Fox, Morgan - Tempted by the Moon [Moonlight Shifters 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (24 page)

Brow furrowed, Sebastian questioned, “Yes, son, she’s the one holding you.”

Eyes bright with hope, he stared up at Brie, “Please take me to Dr. Shaw. She’s my boss. I work for her.” Zane’s eyes closed, and he slumped over as if drugged, programmed to give his message and then turn off like a light switch.

* * * *

Brie watched as Megan’s foot tapped with so much aggressive force she was surprised that her foot hadn’t actually broken through the floorboards. She was pissed like a rain-drenched cat that Dominic had made meat soup out of her colleague’s face. Eyes ignited with a penetrating stare, face flushed fire engine red, there was no mistaking Megan’s dislike for Dominic’s brutish ways.

More than ever, Brie was curious to discover the details that transpired between the two. A fiery redhead and a dark and mysterious knight, yep, they’d make a hell of a pair. Maybe that was the problem.

Zane was a handsome man, a young werewolf by the looks of his golden brown eyes and smooth, flawless olive skin. Apparently a young doctor, too—Megan’s protégé.

Megan’s hate-filled gaze could burn holes straight through bone, and without a shadow of a doubt, Dominic felt each pain-laced glance.

On occasion, as he caught sight of her looking at him, he would demonstrate an exaggerated shiver. Then he would narrow his eyes in a threatening manner, but the action hadn’t deterred her from continuing her venomous stare. The two were sure to kill each other before the night was up.

“Tell me again, why did you not talk to him before you beat him up?” Megan asked, her nostrils flaring, waiting for Dominic’s reply.

“Look, he was snooping around and he smelled like wolf.”

“That’s because he
is
a wolf, you dumbass,” she shouted, hands balled into tight fists at her side.

“I didn’t know who he was, and he reeked of fear. What would you have had me do, wait until he got the drop on one of you? Perhaps next time someone’s lurking around, I’ll wait for them to kill or rape you before I decide to intervene. Perhaps then you’ll shut the fuck up.”

“You’re such an ass.”

“Yep, an ass you keep staring at.”

“Fuck you, Dominic.”

“Not even if you paid me, Doc.”

Practically screaming with immense frustration, Megan moved to the opposite side of the room, far away from Dominic.

Brie wet her dry lips and swallowed. “Okay, now that that’s taken care of.” She gazed from Dominic back to the doctor and then began, “I know you all have questions about what’s been going on and how Sebastian is miraculously healed.”

Clearing her throat, she glanced down at Sebastian and smiled. “I don’t know how to explain any of it really. I think what happened...how best to explain this...to begin with—”

Grinning, Sebastian grasped her hand and said, “What Brie is trying to say is, she is an anomaly among were-kind. Her family history speaks about a girl every so many generations who bears the mark of the moon.” He ran his fingers to the nape of her neck and lifted her hair to reveal such a mark, showing the others. “This woman will have all the characteristics of the wolf except for the ability to transform. She is the keeper of our secrets and the healer of our souls.” He kissed her lips and eased back to see her surprised expression.

“What?” Brie blinked several times, her mind fogged with confusion. Comprehending the words forming from Sebastian’s lips seemed impossible.

He smiled at her as if sensing her distress. “Brie, I should have told you before, but I was so messed up with the virus that I couldn’t think straight. I only knew that you were all I wanted, craved. The instinct to be near you was overwhelming. The reason for that was due to your healing powers. They made me able to fight the virus, even if for just a short time.”

Brows furrowed, she questioned, “Wait, you’re serious about this?”

“Yes,” he sighed. “When I went to Scotland, I met some very interesting people. People who knew exactly what I was the moment they saw me. I didn’t have to say a word. They were waiting for me and knew I was coming on your behalf, or at least they hoped. They told me the stories of your family, shared legendary tales of women who had done remarkable things within the pack. By the time I headed for home, I was full of so much knowledge. I felt like a walking were-history book.”

Shaking her head, she huffed, “I don’t understand. These powers...they’re part of my family?”

“Hold up, time-out. What powers?” Ryken asked, hands held up like a giant
T
.

Sebastian’s gaze flickered from Ryken back to hers and she watched him, hanging onto his every word. “Brie’s gifts are not important. What’s important is that we must protect her at all costs. If the others capture her, they will try and kill her or do something much worse.” Sebastian’s arms draped around her shoulders, and he placed a sweet kiss to her lips, eyes searching deep into hers.

Sebastian whispered, “Brie is the Wolf Princess.”

Surprised gasps and groans zoomed around the room.

“Wait?” Jonah was the first to speak. “You’re serious? Our Brie is the Wolf Princess?” He caressed her cheek. “I always knew you were special. I just hadn’t realized how much.”

Brie licked her dry lips, her mouth as dry as cotton. “I still don’t understand what all this means. What about my powers, and what’s a Wolf Princess?” Glancing to Jonah, she asked, “And why are you so quick to believe it?”

Jonah moved and placed his hand over Brie’s. “If it’s all right with everyone else, Sebastian and I would like to discuss this with Brie in private. This might be a little overwhelming, especially in front of a crowd.”

No one objected, at least not outright, but she could still feel the curious stares scanning over her like laser beams. She felt naked among them, a succulent meal for a pack of starving wolves.

Switching gears, a welcomed distraction, Sebastian asked, “What have we found out about Mason? Any new leads?”

Ryken moved to lean against the wall beside the burning hearth. He kicked his foot up against the wall, arms folded over his chest in his standard pose, and he muttered, “Well, I seriously doubt you’re going to like what Luken and I found out.”

“What? Tell us,” Jonah encouraged.

“Seems you weren’t the only one to take a trip to Scotland this past month—there was someone following you.”

Sebastian’s tone turned defensive as he said, “That’s not possible. I’m one of the best trackers in our pack. I’d never miss something like that.”

Dominic chuckled. “Do you remember anything about your time as a virus-infected freak? You had no scent, Sebastian. You were the atomic stealth boy, and even I couldn’t sense you. You were the perfect weapon. No scent and no sound.”

“So you think I was followed by Mason Levi?”

Luken shook his head. “Actually, no. We found someone from Mason’s pack willing to talk to us.”

“Who?”

“His name is Rider O’Laughlin. He’s a were-panther.”

“Great, just what we need. Another pack to muck with.” The disappointment in Reyes’s voice was duly noted from the political head of the group.

“What did O’Laughlin say?” Jonah asked.

Luken’s turn, he answered, “He said we’ve got more to worry about than Mason Levi. Said there’s more out there like him and they know about Brie, at least the myth of her bloodline. Of course we didn’t understand what they were talking about until now.”

Shrugging off his friends annoyed tone, Jonah muttered, “Explains why Zane paid us a surprise visit.”

Sebastian stared at the ground, his fingers twined around Brie’s. “This is bad,” he groaned. “This is very bad.”

Brie shook her head. “I don’t get it. I just used my power to heal Sebastian. How does Mason or anyone else even know I have powers? I never—” Realization struck her like a meteor the size of Texas. “Oh, shit!”

Glancing at her wide-eyed expression, Jonah breathed, “Exactly.”

Megan raised her hand, waving it back and forth, drawing attention her way. “I’m sorry, I’m a little in the dark over here. Why the, ‘oh, shit?’”

Sebastian spoke first. “Brie used her powers on Mason Levi last month when he attacked her in the ladies’ room at the local diner, and I stupidly let him walk.”

“You what?” Dominic abruptly stood. Heat seethed from every pore in his body, face bright red, neck pulsing with tension. “You had that little prick in your hands and you let him fucking go?”

Sebastian glared up at his friend, eyes filled with astonishment that Dominic would dare disrespect him in front of everyone. He was the next in line if Sebastian wasn’t able to maintain order in the pack, and that sure as hell wasn’t happening now. “I could smell that something was wrong with him, saw his eyes weren’t right. I didn’t want to risk whatever was wrong with him infecting Jonah, Brie, or myself, for that matter.” Rising to his own feet to stand toe-to-toe with the giant, he growled, “I made a judgment call, Dominic. Deal with it.”

“That’s your answer, as usual. ‘Deal with it’?” His eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched tight, and he spoke, calm and lethal, “Look, Sebastian, you could’ve saved us all a hell of a lot of time fixing this shit last month instead of dragging us all in over our heads. We’re fighting a ghost here, and you managed to let our only connection fucking get away. I’m sorry if you think I’m overstepping my bounds, but while you were turning into a fucking mutant, the rest of us have been cleaning up your shit.”

Brie rose to her feet, her chest tight with apprehension. She’d just miraculously saved Sebastian from a fate worse than death, and damn it, she was not about to watch as these two hulky men slung their dicks around in a “whose cock is bigger” contest until one of them was seriously injured or dead.

Wiggling between the two brooding men, she placed her palms flat against each one’s chest, glancing from one to the other as she said, “As much as I think screaming at one another helps”—her eyes darted to meet Dominic’s—“perhaps we can find other means of solving our issues.”

Meeting her gaze, he huffed out a breath. Stalking to the far side of the room, he muttered, “Whatever."

Sebastian kissed her knuckles, whispering into her mind,
Thank you
.

She batted her blond lashes and grinned,
You’re welcome, now answer some questions for them before they all go stir-crazy and stampede the village and kill the chief and his telepathic, power-flinging mate
. Her smile widened.

Shaking his head at her, Sebastian blew out a large breath of air. “I’m sure you all have questions for me. This would be a great time for answers, and then together we’ll come up with a plan of action.”

Reyes’s boot dropped heavy to the floor, and all eyes moved to glance at him.

“Reyes, do you have a question?”

“You’re damn right I do. What the heck happened in here? Why the hell did it look like you tried to eat the cabin?”

Chapter Sixteen

Snickering, Sebastian answered, “Please forgive me for not knowing all the details with precision. I was a little delusional at the time, but what I do remember, I’ll share.” Inhaling a deep breath he began, “During my infection I had a fierce urge to hunt, like what we experience during our first lycan change. I must have gone out hunting one night and left the front door open. When I returned, there were several large animals rummaging through the trash, scurrying around for food. I sensed something strange, like another were-animal. The scent was maddening. But the only thing that was remotely large enough to be a were-animal was a fox. An abnormally large fox, mind you. I was crazed, attacked and killed the animal. I dragged its remains out into the woods and left it, but when I returned, I was so angry. I was losing myself to the virus. I started destroying everything, unable to contain my frustration, my fury. I’d been without Brie for weeks, and the mating heat was like a needle fucking my brain. I needed her, but I was afraid to call for help. I didn’t want to hurt anyone, especially her.” She squeezed his hand.