The Witch and the Wolf Pack

  Book Three

  Moonlight Silver

  by

  K.R. Alexander

  Copyright © 2018 K.R. Alexander

  kralexander.com

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Note to Readers

  Chapter 1

  Stone passageways echoed with my footsteps. The castle corridors were low-ceilinged, claustrophobic, built more like caves than hallways, only to pop out into massive great halls and feast halls with ceilings two or three stories above. Here were fireplaces large enough to park a car in. Contrasted to one iron bracket for a single candle to light a fifty-foot passage.

  Emerging from one of these tunnels, I walked beside a wooden feast table, huge and imposing—as befit the largest private dining room I’d ever seen. There were three of them, set together to form a U-shape with two very long ends and one short at the head of the table, presumably for the noble family to sit.

  No one sat there now: the room quiet besides my own and other distant steps and echoes. Yet the table was set. Plates and goblets, knives and forks with only two tines. Serving bowls of vegetables and bread and a huge roast goose crowned the middle of the short table.

  Andrew stepped past me, reaching with an elegant hand, one finger stretching to poke the goose.

  I grabbed his wrist. “It’s plastic.”

  “I know… Only…” His amber eyes lingered longingly over the pretend goose. “Do you suppose that’s all they had?”

  “It’s a dramatic recreation. Who knows? But it’s a giant goose. If that was ‘all they had’ for dinner I’m sure it was enough.”

  “Bugger that.” Andrew frowned. “I could tackle that gander solo.”

  “You couldn’t eat a whole goose.” I tugged him away, across the room toward the next corridor, keeping my voice down.

  “I’d have a jolly good try, darling.” He looked at me over his glasses.

  I had to admit it was amusing considering the lean, elfin physique of him. About five-ten with motorcycle boots on, and wiry, despite his defined muscles, Andrew was the lightweight of my pack. Zar and Jason tied for second. I kept meaning to ask Andrew more about his heritage including dingo shifters, yet there never seemed to be a moment. Besides, asking Andrew anything was a slippery slope.

  He pushed me just for holding his wrist: “Does this mean our relationship’s progressed to the next stage, Cassiopeia?” Twisting his hand into mine. “Not like sweetheart Isaac or anything, surely, but a runner up? Since you’ve spurned lady-hair?”

  It was one of the great paradoxes of my life lately that everyone in this pack could be my fantasy one moment and a mood-killing asshole the next.

  I yanked Andrew to a stop in this new passageway and faced him, pulling my hand free. My voice was fast and low.

  “If you make one more dig about either of them I’ll slash the tires on your bike and you can figure out your own way home. I’m sick of your commentary and judgements. My relationship with Isaac is none of your business. And I’ve done no such thing to Zar. He’s only upset because I was mad at him for trying to break Isaac’s legs. I’ve been wanting to talk to him all day, but you—among other people around here—are making that very difficult.”

  Andrew smiled, his eyes hooded behind slim glasses. Glasses I’d fixed for him the day before—after Jed had shoved him down the stairs and a lens had smashed.

  “So you want to make things right with the songwriter?” he asked. “I thought—forgive me if I’m wrong—that you told him to sod off after the fur incident with your Arctic prince?” He watched me narrowly.

  “You are mistaken. I’m trying to move on from the past, just like the rest of you, and I only want to talk to him.”

  “Because of Martha? You chatted with her about him, didn’t you?”

  I hesitated.

  Andrew smiled more. Maliciously. “I pay attention. I know you went back to see her this morning while we were getting ready to leave the farm. What did she say?”

  “Why do you care?”

  Andrew shrugged. “Just curious. You, of all people, know what that feels like.”

  Again, I wavered. If he wanted information about Zar, it had to be for no good purpose. On the other hand, Andrew had known Zar most of their lives, ever since Andrew had joined the Sable Pack as an eight-year-old “pup.” And it had turned out they were all at least somewhat knowledgeable about astrology. I probably wouldn’t be saying anything from Martha that Andrew didn’t already know about Zar.

  Besides that, Andrew might be able to offer his own insights. But this was the peril with Andrew. Was it worth it? Owing him in return? Everything a trade off.

  Andrew knew what I was considering when I paused.

  “Tell you what,” he said silkily through his cattish smile. “Satisfy my … curiosity about what she said, and I’ll tell you how to mend fences with lady-hair.” He took my hand again, slipping his fingers through mine.

  “Why?” I glanced down at the hand.

  “Why not? Sounds more than fair, doesn’t it?”

  “Why are you always acting like you want to ‘help’ my relationship with some other male than yourself?”

  “Because I’m a helpful, agreeable person. I’ve told you before, what you want is what I want. If it makes you happy it makes me happy. Naturally, it would make you happy if your paramour pup were once more dangling off your arm. I can make that happen by giving advice. So…” Another little shrug.

  I withdrew my hand from his. “I’m sure your motives are pure as the driven snow, but I’ll pass.”

  “Really?” He stepped even closer in the tight stone hallway, catching my fingers once more. “Is what Martha told you so deliciously secret?”

  “It’s not that. It’s that I don’t trust you wanting something.”

  “Wanting something is how the world works, darling. Which brings us back to fair trading.” He rested his right hand on my hip, left fingers twisted in mine, as if ready to start a waltz. “What do you say? Want to make up with Zar or not?”

  “I’ll figure out my own way. We’re supposed to be finding a library.” I tried to disengage my hand again but he held on.

  The trouble with Andrew being close—and holding on in a tight space—was that it took an act of will to even try getting away from him. I had good reason to admire the appearance of all six, but Andrew, like his lighter build, was a work unto himself: an Adonis sculpture with the kind of face I’d never even known in person before him—only seen in glossy fashion advertising.

  Throw in the complication of his web of words, the intimacy of his hand on my hip, the strength of his hold on my hand, and I felt I was being pulled into a trance state without my consent. As if he could count backwards from three and I’d be gone, well and truly hypnotized. I should have been more used to him by now. Yet, instead of growing immune, I’d found him more and more difficult. Even now. Even after last night with Isaac, before the visit to the cemetery.

  You made your choice, I kept telling myself. And here I was anyway, tangled up with Andrew, and Zar, and not at all sure I wanted to get away.

  None of it meant I didn’t love Isaac.

  It was only … since meeting this pack … love and relationships had become a lot more complicated—and busier—than they ever had been before.

  “We’ll find it,” Andrew answered about the library, still smiling, moving in even more. “You’ve got five good noses on the case. Plus Kage. With that turnip he keeps on the end of his face.”

  “He has allergies. Maybe your nose wouldn’t be so great either. And what about your bad eyes?”

  Andrew stepped in, face almost to mine.

  I had to give ground and move back. My shoulders hit the stone wall in the narrow corridor.

  “Want me to stop having a go at precious Kage also?” Andrew asked. “Is every wolf sacred? You just say the word, darling. And I will.”

  “In trade?”

  “Of course.” He turned his head, lips inches from mine.

  My heart pounded as I imagined him touching me more—and tried not to imagine it. I thought about Zar and Martha and needing to have a real conversation with Zar. I hadn’t done so since the evening we’d lain in the hayfield together—which sounds more salacious than it really was.

  I slid sideways from Andrew so our lips did not meet, breathing too fast. “All right. Tell me. What’s your surefire way for me to make up with Zar?”

  “You first. What’d the astrologer say about him?” Andrew moved with me, his right hand sliding from my hip, up below my blouse as if all perfectly normal.

  “Get your hands off me.” I grabbed his wrist.

  “Say it like you mean it and I will.” He chuckled.

  And, Goddess, that was the problem with him. If I was nasty about it, meant it, Andrew would probably back off. But it was so damn hard to mean it.

  “Tell me about Zar,” I said. “We’ll have time to talk about the astrology.”

  “What’s the matter, Cassiopeia? What do lady-hair and the bearded one have that I don’t? Other than all the hair? I’d ask if I’m not pretty enough for you, but we all know that’s not their edge.”

  I snorted and turned my head away while he followed, his lips brushing my neck. “Did it ever occur to you that there’s more to a relationship than a pretty face?”

  “What do you think?”

  That made me laugh more.

  He kissed my neck. “It’s no problem. If a third party saw us together, they’d assume that’s all this is about anyway. She complements his face, he complements hers. Next thing you know they’re walking down the aisle. Might not have enough brains to stuff a thimble, but just imagine those angelic offspring.”

  So there I was, holding his hands, laughing while he kissed my neck, when I opened my eyes to see Zar walk into the corridor, spot us, stare, then whip around and walk back out.

  Horrified, I kneed Andrew in the groin.

  That might sound … dramatic. But it was more or less instinctive. Sudden panic at the situation coupled with instantly needing to correct—no matter that it was actually too late to do anything.

  When I’d first left home from my grandmother and moved to Portland for college, I’d taken, on her dime, a full-contact self-defense course. It had been an intense experience that taught me there are many ways to break away from a guy and do quick damage. Yet there’s still nothing better than a classic.

  And Andrew was right there. I didn’t hit him terribly hard. Just a literal knee-jerk reaction.

  So I was surprised when sleek Andrew dropped as if axed in the knees.

  “Fucking hell in a handcart—Moon, Sun, and stars… What the bloody hell was that for?” And so on in a strangled gasp as if I also stood on his windpipe.

  I dashed to the end of the passage while he swore, crumpled on the ground. Instead of running after Zar, though, I ran right into a massive, blonde woman who could have snapped me over her knee before swallowing me whole.

  “Entschuldigen Sie,” she boomed at me.

  “Sorry,” I panted and stepped back while she moved around the dining table, along with a couple of strapping teenagers looking at the displays.

  What was I going to do? Run and dodge through the castle’s visiting tourists to find Zar and make a scene in the foyer, gift shop, or café?

  We weren’t alone in Versteckterstein Schloss, outside of the Black Forest in southwestern Germany. We were here like all the other paying tourists. Only we happened to be searching for an ancient vampiric library hidden in the place. And breaking one another’s hearts while we were at it.

  Chapter 2

  I hurried back to Andrew. Even if I had been able to catch Zar I hadn’t the faintest idea what I’d say to him.

  “Hunt Moon,” Andrew panted. “Bleeding hell…” He was on his knees, hunched in a fetal position.

  “That was Zar in the corridor,” I explained myself. “And I didn’t hit you that hard.”

  “You’re the judge of that?” he gasped. “Ever tried externalizing your uterus and letting someone have a kick at that? See if it hurts or not?”

  “That’s an … interesting analogy. I never thought of it that way. It seems female mammals were bright enough to evolve to avoid that sort of thing, so let’s not worry about it. I’m sorry I hurt you. Did you hear me? That was Zar. Of all the hallways he could happen to walk down. This castle must be hundreds of thousands of square feet.”

  “I know.” He rocked back on his knees, hands on his thighs, face tipped up and eyes shut as he blew out a breath. “I heard him.”

  “Heard him?”

  “I heard his steps coming up. All those stone echoes.” Though nothing else about his position changed, Andrew grinned. “I thought that was his step.”

  “You—? Wait—” I moved closer, staring down as fresh alarm and anger flooded me over the remorse and embarrassment. “You did that deliberately? You set me up? You hoped he would walk in and see us?”

  “We weren’t doing anything wrong.” Andrew opened his eyes to smile at me. “We didn’t even kiss, did we? Not that that would have been wrong, but—”

  I bent and grabbed his shirt, putting us nose-to-nose. “You scheming, manipulative bastard. Tell me what I can say to him to make up with him, now, or you’re going to think that knee was a love pat.”

  Andrew blinked.

  I felt electricity between us, my own hair prickling with static, his glasses heating with it, a breeze jittering through the passageway that hadn’t been there before. Usually, magic was a focus, a great effort of will. But I’d been finding my magic more and more lately with strong emotions.

  “That’s an … attractive negotiation policy you have.” He swallowed, his pupils dilated. “Tell him … tell him Milka is a twit who doesn’t know anything about human females.”

  “What?”

  “It’ll make sense to him. Tell him I told you that. Not like I was trying to help, or he wouldn’t believe it. Tell him like I was having a laugh at him. ‘Ha, Milka’s a twit who doesn’t know women, too bad for Zar.’ Then he’ll believe it.”

  I let go, though still hesitated. “That’s who’s been giving him advice about women? I’d wondered. I even said something to him already.”

  “Yeah.” Andrew was still breathing fast, still on his knees. “Milka is his aunt. She’s got it in her head that she’s a real expert with worms. And he does too. They’re mental. She’s told him all sorts of rubbish. Maybe some of it was true decades ago, but I doubt even then.”

  “And that’s what you think he needs to hear right now? That his aunt is mental?”

  “Believe me. It’ll change everything he thought he knew about you and he’ll want to start over. So you’ll kiss and make up and whatever.”

  “What about us just now?”

  “What about it? Not wearing a ring, are you? He knows you’re a rolling stone. If it’s not Jason one night it’s Jed the next, or Isaac the third. Zar doesn’t give a damn about me. He just wants your attention.”

  I frowned, more thinking this over than still angry with him.

  “All right?” Andrew held up his empty palms.

  “All right,” I repeated quietly. “So Milka doesn’t know anything about humans. Have you also fed him misinformation on women?”

  “I’ve tried.” Andrew shrugged. “Honestly? I’ve tried to help the poor sod a couple times also. Comes a point when even I’ve got to feel sorry for him. It doesn’t matter. He won’t believe anything I say, true or false. Always thinks I’m taking the Mickey out of him.”

  “I can’t imagine why.” I turned away.

  Andrew scrambled to his feet behind me. “Where’re you going? You can’t go fawning after him right now. You said you could find this vampires’ library.”

  “I obviously haven’t turned anything up yet, scrying or in person, so you all can carry on without me. I’m going to find Zar. Let me know if you make any progress.”

  He called me back, raising more objections, but I hurried through the dining hall and made my way down spiral stone stairs.

  I tried to summon an image of Zar’s face as I went, getting only a visual of him in sunlight. I’d already been able to guess he’d go outside.

  Downstairs, I passed Jason and Kage feeling over walls and door frames for secret openings. Not being too subtle about it either. They’d be lucky if one of the German security guys didn’t escort them out.

  I said nothing, however, soon making my way across the courtyard to the reconstructed working portcullis. Here, I looked below to the parking lot, then around inside on this hilltop to picnic tables, a tour group, and another dozen tourists roaming in late afternoon sunlight. Beyond them all stood the massive castle, one of the largest in the country, and its wings and towers, walls and battlements.

 

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