Текст книги "Black Moon"

Автор книги: J. Tyler

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Текущая страница: 15 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

“Oh, no. No!”

She’d lost the man she loved to the evil that had stalked him all his life.

And had finally won.

* * *

Nick and Jarrod sat in Nick’s office at half past two in the morning. Unable to sleep, they’d talked for hours. Something was going to happen, and soon.

The storm was on the way.

As if to punctuate this knowledge, lightning flashed and actual thunder rolled in the distance. Miles away yet but speeding toward them. He should’ve known the end would come with a real storm to add to the mess, not simply a figurative one.

“I can’t get a reading, no inkling at all of a vision beyond what I’ve told you,” Nick said in frustration.

“And that doesn’t help much. We know there’s a great war and Kalen is there. He’s the impetus of the catastrophic event.”

“Yeah. And we don’t know which side of the fence he comes down on.”

The cell phone on Nick’s desk buzzed and he glanced at it in surprise. Then the chill of foreboding gripped him even before he saw the name on the screen. “It’s A.J.,” he told Jarrod. Then he answered. “What’s up?”

“Boss, it’s Kalen,” the younger man said breathlessly. Nick was out of his chair and moving before the guy spoke again. Jarrod ran after him. “That Unseelie creep got into his head again, and—and you shoulda seen it. I think he’s gone, boss. Like ‘the Kalen we know doesn’t live here anymore’ gone. He’s raving about killing all of us!”

“Grant and I are on the way.”

“God, it’s going to devastate Mac if . . .” The man couldn’t finish.

“I know. But I’m not sure I’ll have a choice.”

But he knew. As soon as they entered the corridor and Nick heard the maniacal laughter, the awful sound of a body crashing into the cell’s bars again and again, he understood what he had to do.

And it devastated him every bit as much as it would Kalen’s mate.

He was going to have to put down a poor kid who’d never had a chance.

Fifteen

What was with all the attention?

Kalen strained to bring the pieces of his fractured mind back together. To make sense of why he was laughing like a loon, throwing himself at the bars of his prison. Scaring the shit out of A.J. Then the sniper was talking on his cell phone. Nick, he heard the man say.

And soon enough, Nick was standing outside, staring in at Kalen with an expression of sorrow Kalen had never seen before. It gave him pause. What did the man have to be sorry about? Hewas the one in here, suffering for something that wasn’t his fault.

Was it?

“I’ll do it,” A.J. said grimly, gripping his rifle. “It’s my job.”

“No. As I said before, he’s Pack. As commander, he’s my responsibility, and so is his end.”

End. Whose?

Nick took the rifle from A.J., who handed it over reluctantly. Then the commander faced Kalen again, the weapon in his big hands. “What’s your name, son?” he asked, his voice calm.

“Is that a trick question?” he asked snidely. “You can call me Prince of the Unseelie.” Yeah, he liked that.

“Who do you answer to?” the commander persisted.

“Malik. My father.” But that wasn’t right. The man in front of him was his boss. A father figure, too. He was good and kind. But where had those two pipe dreams of goodness and kindness from anyone ever gotten him?

“Jesus Christ,” Aric said, walking up to Nick’s side. “What the fuck is going on? Kalen?”

“Aric,” Nick said quietly. “You might not want to watch this.”

“What?” The redhead’s mouth dropped open. “No! He goes batty and that’s it? You just finish him? I thought we were gonna give him time?”

Aric. A friend, arguing for his life. That sliver of light became a thread in an ocean of black. It grew, slim but there. No! He had no friends. He had only his father. And his father had promised him power; he would never again be at anyone’s mercy.

“I can’t save him, Aric. He’s given himself to the Unseelie, and he won’t help himself. He doesn’t want us or the good we’ve brought to his life. He wants blood and death.”

Yes, that’s what he wanted . . . No, it wasn’t! He loved and respected Nick, all of these men. God, his head hurt.

His mate. He needed Mackenzie.

“Where’s my mate? Where’s Mackenzie?” he asked. God, he was so confused. And now he was getting scared, because Nick had raised the rifle to his shoulder. Kalen was looking down the scope.

Aric stared at his boss in horror. “Nick, you can’t. Don’t you hear him? If he’s asking for his mate, he’s still in there somewhere.”

From somewhere out of Kalen’s line of sight, footsteps sounded, coming fast up the hallway. “No!” Mac screamed. Running up to Nick, she hung on to his arm. “You said forty-eight hours! You can’t do this! Melina can give him the sedative!”

And then it happened. Nick whirled and grabbed her arm, and Kalen’s vision went crimson.

Mate. The man was touching his mate. Grabbing her and pushing her back as she cried. The cries went straight to his soul, and the light surged. Twined with the dark and exploded outward in a hurricane of power that he gathered and used to snap the silver chains binding his wrists.

Flinging them aside, he gripped the bars and gave a mighty pull, every muscle in his body straining. The entire structure ripped from the stone walls and he tossed it aside just as Nick stumbled backward and opened fire.

The bullet punched his shoulder and he roared in agony. His mate screamed again as Kalen fell back against the ruined wall, clutching the wound. In that moment, their gazes met and he saw her terror, felt it through their bond . . . and the truth nearly sent him to his knees. She was afraid for him. And ofhim. Her pain was all his fault. He had to leave.

“I’m sorry,” he rasped. Regret almost felled him.

Summoning his magic, he countered the cell’s damaged fortifications and vanished. Transported himself far into the Shoshone and reappeared in a place he recognized. It was the spot where he and Mackenzie had made love, so long ago it seemed. He tried to draw comfort from their place, but there was mostly debilitating grief. He’d lost her.

Lost himself, too.

His wound throbbed and he staggered, weakened by blood loss. Perhaps there was a way to heal. He shifted into his panther and collapsed under a tree, panting. He listened to the sounds of the night returning. Crickets and strange bird calls. Somewhere, the lone howl of a wolf that was a permanent resident of the forest, not Pack.

Maybe he should’ve let Nick eliminate him, but the last shred of humanity in him insisted that he would never have hurt anyone on his own, especially Mackenzie. There was still good inside him.

Which would be damned near impossible to prove now that he was a fugitive Sorcerer with a kill order on his head and rage burning in his almost-black heart.

* * *

Mac stood shaking, staring at the spot where Kalen had been seconds before. There was blood on the wall where he’d rested his back against it, the shot having gone through his shoulder.

“You shot my mate,” she hissed, rounding on Nick.

The rest of the Pack, along with Sariel, surrounded them now, kicking through the rubble and taking in the nasty scene before them.

“You shot my brother?” the Fae asked in disbelief, appalled. One by one, every man in the Pack turned to the prince and someone whistled. Apparently not everyone had gotten that memo.

“He was about to fucking murder us all!” the commander shouted.

“He didn’t go nuts and bust out until you grabbed my arm, Nick! Come on. You know it’s not smart to touch a man’s mate when he’s in his right mind, much less when he’s struggling like Kalen is!”

“You’re so certain he’s actually fighting to regain himself? Are you willing to bet all our lives on that?”

“Yes!”

Nick heaved several breaths, making a visible effort to calm down. “We’ll find him, or more likely he’ll find us. You are not to go looking for him. Is that clear?”

“Nick, that’s not—”

“Is that fucking clear, Doctor?”

“Yes, sir,” she seethed. Turning on her heel, she ignored her dad and everyone else and marched toward her quarters. Once there, she paced and swore until she thought she’d go as crazy as Kalen had. What the hell was she supposed to do now? Just sit here like a good little mate and wait for the big, bad wolves to make it all better?

Well, they’d probably just end up making it worse. Leave a man in charge and it was bound to get worse before it got better.

“Is that clear?” she mocked. “Well, yes, and in fact it sucks. So fuck that.”

In her bedroom, she toed off her work shoes; they were flats with cushy soles, but not made for a walk in the woods. Then she stripped out of her black slacks and blouse, which weren’t hiking material, either.

From her closet she fetched dark jeans and a T-shirt, as well as her best hiking boots with thick, well-treaded soles, and carried them to the bed. In five minutes she was dressed, had retrieved the flashlight she kept in the nightstand for power outages, and slipped into the corridor.

Luck was on her side as she hurried to the end and through the rec room. That way was the easiest exit without being seen by those inside, who were on the other side of the compound. But she stood outside, gazing at the path leading into the woods, and shivered. Traipsing through the unforgiving Shoshone in the dead of night wasn’t the wisest course of action. It wasn’t like the compound was situated in a fucking YMCA camp.

But anger and desperation were good motivators. And they had nothing on the best motivator of all—her love for the man who was in so much turmoil. The father of her child. She’d do just about anything to bring him home.

“You and me are going on an adventure,” she said, rubbing her flat stomach. “We’re going to find your daddy, and we’ve got his pendant to protect us. We’ll be fine.”

At that moment she recalled what Kalen had said about the pendant not protecting against stupidity and shoved that aside. If she was going to think like that she’d never leave.

Opening her heart and mind to her mating bond, she switched on the flashlight and followed her instinct. She sent love singing along the golden thread as though it were a telephone line and she had plenty to say. When she felt the love flowing in return, she gasped and followed where the thread was leading her.

She tried to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. Not on the rustles in the dense foliage of the nocturnal animals foraging. Not on the call of a wolf that was natural, not a shifter. She reminded herself that there had never been a documented case of a wolf attacking a person, that they shied away from man.

The same couldn’t be said of the grizzlies. But surely they were sleeping.

When her flashlight illuminated a tall, dark form ahead, she wasn’t afraid. Her heart sped up with happiness. “Kalen! I’m so glad I found you!”

But as she got closer, she saw that the smile in her beam of light wasn’t her mate’s. Malik stood grinning at her in his true form, huge and frightening. His leathery wings seemed to block out the stars and his fangs gleamed wickedly.

“I’m glad you found me too, sweet. Though I’m not my son.”

“He’s not any more your son than I am,” she told him, anger giving her courage.

The Unseelie chuckled. “He’s my flesh and blood, dear. And yet you still want him as your mate. If that’s so, then we can’t be all bad.”

“Don’t put yourself in the same category with Kalen. There’s no comparison.”

“My, you’re a feisty thing,” he said in amusement. “I used to believe you were a bit of a pushover, but it’s nice to see that you have spunk. It will make breaking you all the more fun.”

Inside she trembled, but she summoned false bravado. “I have the pendant. It will protect me from all evil, and there’s nothing you can do about that.”

“Perhaps not. But it only protects the wearer, no one else.”

She frowned. “And so it will keep me from harm.”

“But not your mate.”

“He’s strong enough to fight you and win.”

“Let’s humor you and say he turns from me. All is not lost as far as I can see, because I still have a descendant to take his place.” He paused, letting that sink in.

She recoiled, terror rising where confidence had been moments ago. “I won’t let you come near our baby! I’ll kill you first!”

“You and what army? And the pendant can’t protect three people at once.” He looked around pointedly. “But come now, there’s no need for theatrics. We will all be a family—you, my son, my grandson, and me.”

She gave a hysterical laugh. “Yeah, the Addams Family.”

“Who?”

“Forget it. I’m not going anywhere with you, so you can just beam yourself back to your cave. And, oh yes, wait to get your ass kicked by the Alpha Pack. Because they’re coming for you.”

“So you’re going to march through the forest all night searching for your wayward lover?”

“Sure. And if you’ll kindly move aside, I’ll get on with it.” She was running on pure adrenaline. No doubt when she recalled this moment sometime in the future, staring up at the most dangerous creature in three realms, she would be amazed that she hadn’t fainted.

“No need to go to all that foolishness when you can simply accompany me.”

She swallowed hard. “You know where he is?”

“Of course. After the fiasco at your wolves’ den, he came to me. Injured, I might add, and I’m not pleased about that.”

“Neither am I, so that’s one thing we agree on.” She studied the Unseelie. “How do I know you’re telling the truth that he’s there and you’re not trying to trick me?”

“The pendant will know,” he said, pointing to the silver disk. “I won’t be able to touch you if my intent is other than what I say. I will take you to your mate.”

After a brief hesitation, she nodded. She had to get to Kalen. That was all that mattered. “Okay.”

Reaching out, he placed a hand on her shoulder. In an instant the atmosphere whirled and the forest vanished. The ground disappeared from under her feet. She couldn’t scream. But in seconds the trip was over and they were both standing in the living room of a rustic cabin.

“This is your hideout?” she asked, willing down the nausea.

“My nest for the moment. It’s really an illusion, but a nice one, don’t you think?”

“Where’s Kalen?”

“Mackenzie, what are you doing here?”

At Kalen’s voice, she looked past the Unseelie to see him standing there, his expression cold. She couldn’t lose him to Malik. Not after all they’d been through.

“I came to find you and—and bring you home.”

“Home?” he sneered. “Back to my loving boss so he can kill me? Back to my brothers who are going to stand there and let it happen?”

“Nobody wants you dead! But Nick thinks you’re past help and he didn’t know what to do!”

“The healing bullet wound in my shoulder says differently.”

“Think what you want, but the Pack loves you. And I love you most of all.” There it was. A spark of humanity that warmed his gaze, filled it with longing. For a few seconds he devoured her hungrily with those green eyes. But then he glanced at Malik, who was observing avidly, and the wall came down again.

“Love has no place in my life now,” he said coolly. “The sooner you accept that, the better.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” This frightened her, not knowing if he was posturing for Malik’s benefit, or if he’d really turned.

“I thought I loved you, but I didn’t know what that was. I can’t give something I’ve never had.”

“That’s not true,” she said, holding back a sob. “You have my love. You’ve felt it. And our baby will love his father.”

Another spark. Her Kalen was in there, she was sure of it.

“Our child will follow in my footsteps. In the meantime, you will live here with me. After Nick and his Pack are defeated, we’ll move to the Unseelie realm, where we’ll stay.”

That was so not going to happen. But one look at Malik’s sinister expression told her what answer was expected. And she’d give it to buy time until she knew what game Kalen was playing. “As long as I’m with you, it doesn’t matter where we live. I’ll do as you say, and no one else but you.”

Kalen nodded. Malik appeared extremely pleased.

“Make sure the woman stays here. I’m going to gather my Sluagh and then I’ll call for you to join in the attack. Oh, and lower the shields on the compound now.”

“Yes, Father.” Closing his eyes, he chanted softly. The words flowed, faster and stronger, until at last he stopped and opened them again. “It’s done.”

Mac’s heart stuttered in dread. “You didn’t.”

“I’m going,” Malik said. “Be ready.”

He vanished and Kalen tugged on her arm, urging her toward the stairs. She opened her mouth, but he silenced her with a finger over her lips.

“We don’t have much time.”

“For what? You’re scaring me.”

“Shh.”

He led her to a large suite with an opulent bed taking up quite a bit of space. Then he closed the door, turned and took her into his arms. Kissed her with all the pent-up passion they hadn’t been able to express for a day or two. When he set her back from him, his face was filled with such love, it took her breath away.

“I love you, baby. Never, ever forget that. No matter what you see or hear before dawn, don’t forget I love you so.”

“What’s going on? I saw you losing your mind in that cell and—”

“I did lose it,” he said, his voice aching with regret. “In that cell, the evil consumed me and I longed to kill. But when Nick grabbed you . . . Yeah, I went nuts. You’re my mate and seeing his hand on you reminded me I’d do anything for you. For you, not for that sonofabitch.”

“Oh, Kalen.”

“I’m still fighting the compulsion, and God, it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But youmake it go away. The only time it’s really manageable, when I feel like I can win, is when you’re in my arms. When he brought you here, I had to make it believable that I’m completely on his side. I do love you. I’m sorry, baby.”

She held him tight and they stood together, breathing each other in. Holding on to this moment in time, because it might be all they had. “He’s going to attack. What are we going to do?”

He stroked her face tenderly. “ Wearen’t doing anything. I’m sending you back to the compound because that’s where it’s safest. Then I’m joining the fight against that fucking Unseelie bastard who is not my father in any sense of the word.”

“But you just lowered the shields there! I don’t understand.”

“I didn’t lower them, sweetheart. I strengthened them.”

She sagged against him. “Oh, thank God. I thought . . .”

“I know.” He kissed the top of her head. “And I’m sorry all I’ve done tonight is scare you. This will be over soon. I promise.”

“I’ll kill you for it later. We need to get going before hedecides to come back or something.”

“He won’t. Malik’s too focused on his mission. And we have time.” He edged her backward, toward the big bed. “Let me make love to you, baby.”

“Here? In his house?”

“It’s not his house. It’s an illusion. But we’re not, and neither is how we feel.”

“I know, but—”

“Loving you keeps him out of my head and my soul. Help me drive out the darkness for good. I need to show you how much I love you before . . . before I have to fight.”

That sounded far too much like goodbye. She wouldn’t accept that, but neither would she waste any precious moments with him. And if it would help him, she wouldn’t refuse. He undressed her with care, the regular way because he enjoyed it, then himself with magic. He pushed her onto the bed, followed her down.

Covering her, he pushed inside. Made slow, tender love to her, cradling her close. He whispered in her ear, “Never forget this. Never forget me, or how much I love you and our child. How much I want you both.”

“I won’t,” she told him. Tears streamed into her hair. It was a beautiful joining, despite the uncertainty that awaited them.

They reached their orgasm together with mutual cries and floated down. He held her as long as he could, then slipped out of her. Standing by the bed, he clothed himself again, then her, with a wave of his hand.

“I wish I could take you far away from here. Just run from the fight with you.”

“But you’re not made that way.”

His smile was heartbreaking as he took her hand. “No. And you wouldn’t love me if I were. Hold on. I’ll take you back.”

Before she could protest, the room disappeared. The same sense of flying shot a thrill through her, and it wasn’t as nauseating as before. In moments, her feet touched solid ground and she found they were standing outside Sariel’s room. Kalen knocked, and it took several seconds before the door opened and his brother stood gaping at them.

“Good gods!” The prince ushered them inside and glanced up and down the hallway before shutting and locking the door. He faced Kalen with worry. “Are you mad? If Nick finds you here, all hell is going to break loose. Again.”

“He won’t. I’m not staying long. I just brought Mackenzie back, and then I’m joining in the fight. On the Pack’s side.”

“That’s not what Nick believes.” Sariel eyed his brother.

“He’ll believe it when he’s faced with the proof. I can’t do any more than that to convince him.”

“You don’t have to do this.”

“Yes, I do. I told my mate and I’ll tell you—I don’t run from a fight.”

“You seem in control of yourself. Nothing like what I saw earlier.”

“It’s a lot harder than it looks,” Kalen said, his expression bleak. “Mackenzie grounds me, and it’s worse when people or circumstances interfere with our harmony.”

“She won’t be with you in this fight. How will she ground you then?”

“I’ll just have to keep her and the baby in my thoughts. And my real family—you and my Pack brothers. All I can give it is my best shot.”

“I’m joining you. I’m not standing by this time and allowing all of you to fight my battles.” He held up a hand to forestall Kalen’s argument. “I am Malik’s son as well, and this conflict started because of me.”

“No. It started because of Malik’s plot to create super-shifters. The Pack was already after him. They just didn’t know who they were chasing for a long time, and you being related to him and on his hit list was pure coincidence. You’re under their protection now and they don’t resent that one bit.”

“That’s true,” Mac put in. “Everyone adores you.”

Sariel’s face colored a bit. “Well, I think the world of everyone here and I’d hate to leave.”

Kalen’s expression hardened. “You won’t have to. We’re going to give that asshole a taste of what super-shifters really are—and he’s not going to be able to handle the reality check we hand him.”

“I think I’m going to enjoy having you for a brother,” Sariel told him with a smile.

“Same here.” Kalen glanced at Mac. “Give us a minute, baby?”

She nodded and the pair moved across the room, murmuring in hushed voices. Sariel seemed upset but eventually capitulated to whatever Kalen was speaking to him about. Apparently satisfied, Kalen pulled the prince into a brief embrace, then let him go. Kalen returned to Mac and gave her a hug as well, ending hers with another searing kiss.

“When this is over, we’re taking a vacation in Fiji. Just so you can start packing.”

She gave him a watery smile. “Sounds good to me.”

“I love you, baby.”

“Love you more,” she choked out. Before she could say anything else, he vanished. She gazed at the spot where he’d been. “What did he say to you?”

Sariel just sighed heavily.

“Tell me.”

“He asked me to take care of you and the baby if he doesn’t come home. But he will,” the prince said fiercely. “We have to believe that.”

She was trying. Really, really trying to keep the faith.

But it was getting harder with each passing second.

* * *

Nick was perched on the edge of the conference table, slurping as much coffee as he could to keep himself going, like many of his Pack.

They were all tense. Waiting. Jax and Zan were scouting the perimeter, using the cover of darkness to locate Malik and his Sluagh. A crack of lightning split the sky outside the window and thunder rolled again, the time in between shorter. Stronger. The storm was closer and moving in fast.

And out of the blue, the vision held him in its icy grip.

Nick was kneeling in the middle of a field, racked with pain as cold rain lashed down, stinging like needles. Lightning split the sky, took a jagged path to the soaked earth, scorching it in spite of the downpour.

All around him, his Pack battled the Sluagh. His brave men cutting a swath through Malik’s batlike Unseelie minions, losing ground with every passing second. There were hundreds of the terrible beasts, swarming, screeching. Far too many for either fierce wolves or men with magical gifts to defeat.

They were all going to die.

High on a pinnacle stood the Sorcerer with his staff, holding it aloft. Screaming at the Unseelie enemy, at the heavens for help that would not come.

And then a bolt of lightning streaked from the boiling black clouds, making the night as day just before it hit the end of the Sorcerer’s staff. A massive detonation shook the ground and the world fell away.

Fell and fell. Taking Nick and his men into the abyss.

“Nick!” Was that Ryon? “Nick!”

He blinked to find Ryon crouched over him, patting his cheek. “Shit.”

“What did you see, boss?”

He took the hand up Ryon offered and met each of their worried stares. He’d never told his men about the vision before. But maybe it was time he did. They needed to know what they were facing. The dire odds.

So he told them in detail. And when he was finished, the pall in the room was palpable. Never had he seen such doubt and fear on their faces, and he almost regretted it.

“So Kalen’s going to save us?” Ryon asked.

“Or destroy us all. I don’t know which way it goes, so if any of you want out, now’s the time to speak up. Anyone?”

No one moved. Or spoke.

Jax and Zan eased inside, Sariel after them. “What did you find?” Nick asked Jax.

“There’s a huge army of Sluagh gathering a couple of miles west of here, in a clearing in the forest. There’s way too many, even with Grant’s forces meeting us and intercepting them.”

Nick and Jarrod shared a look; then Nick repeated his question. “Could be we’re all about to meet our deaths. In or out?”

Jax scoffed. “How could you even ask us that? In, dammit.”

The rest echoed him, and the Pack took a few moments to center themselves. To contemplate the monumental task before them. Then they went to face their fate like the men of honor they were. Nick was the last out, but not before he took one more look around the room.

And he wondered, as they all did, whether they’d make it home alive.