Death moon curses, p.15
Death Moon Curses, page 15
I should’ve seen this coming. Connolly was absolutely the type of man who would kill his own son after he’d proved his usefulness and was no longer needed. He’d killed his own brother too.
Numbness crashed over me as I stared down at Stride’s lifeless body, the blood which had flowed freely from his wound now a faint trickle as his heart stopped pumping.
Connolly turned to me with the blade still in his hand, dripping with fresh blood. “Let that be a lesson to you,” he snarled, breathing hard. “I could just as easily decide to end your worthless life as I did his. It seems you both forgot who's holding the cards here.”
“I thought I was your big chance at finally claiming all the power you think you deserve,” I spat.
“Please,” he said with a slight chuckle. “As if I couldn't start a new family. As if I couldn't find the rest of my progeny out there. You think a little too highly of yourself.”
“How could you kill him?” Aimes shouted. “You’re his dad! Why would you—”
“Shut up, you useless orphan.” Connolly charged at him, the knife held high.
I threw myself between the two of them with my teeth bared. “Don’t you fucking dare.”
The way my dad hesitated told me all I needed to know. He had no intention of killing me. That was the last thing he wanted to do. He still hoped he could get through to me somehow.
“I will kill him,” he snarled. “I will slit his throat from ear to ear.”
I stared him down, my attention never far from the blade he still held high. “You’ll have to get through me first.” My voice came out eerily calm. I would have no problem killing this man with the blades hidden in my boots if he so much as touched a single hair on Aimes’s head.
“If you do as I say, I’ll spare him.”
I leaned in close so he’d be sure to hear me. “When have I ever followed anyone else’s rules?”
He bared his teeth at my face. “Then say goodbye to your mate.”
With a growl, he swept me aside with surprising strength. I stumbled, then fell to my hands and knees at his feet.
But then.
Then.
I knew Mom and the coven had broken the spell Connolly had placed over the mansion. I heard my wolf’s psycho-bitch growl. She had awakened inside me once again.
And she was furious.
Blinding white light erupted from inside me.
The guards surrounding Aimes gasped in surprise.
Connolly gasped, too, throwing up an arm to shield his eyes and dropping the blade.
A shockwave burst through the room, starting where I knelt and exploding outward. Connolly, the guards, and Aimes flew backward and landed halfway across the ballroom. The barred windows shattered all at once. The floor shook.
Then, silence.
I lifted my head, looking around, pride bubbling in my chest.
Especially when I saw the sweetest sight in the world—my white wolf circling Connolly. Her long fangs glistened in the chandeliers’ lights.
“How is this possible?” he demanded, scrambling backward, his feet and hands sliding over the marble floor. “How?”
The guards hauled Aimes to his feet, but he was no longer cuffed. They dangled from his wrists, the key he’d stolen from one of Brandon’s goons stuck in the lock. His movements fluid and graceful, he punched one guard and then the next. They both plummeted to the ground.
He turned and met my gaze, and the most beautiful smile blossomed over his face.
Two more guards came rushing into the ballroom, pale and wide-eyed.
“Blood suckers!” one of them screamed an instant before he was taken down from behind.
The other guard sprinted away toward us.
The vampire moved with lightning speed, almost tearing the first guard’s head off in his frenzy to sink in his fangs.
It was a terrible sight, but also one I couldn't tear my eyes from.
Ronan soon followed, then Parris, while Cassius drank his fill.
Ronan crooked a finger, smiling at the second guard who backed away, shaking his head.
“No, no!” The guard turned, shifting as he did, and started running for the broken windows like he was going to jump out.
He didn’t get the chance. Ronan landed on the wolf's back, taking him down, laughing the instant before he began to drink deeply.
Connolly’s high-pitched, almost insane laughter rang through the ballroom. “You think this makes a difference? You think you’ve won? You’ve won nothing. Nothing!”
Cassius tossed the dead guard’s body aside then offered a blood-soaked smile. “You talked about a signal,” he reminded me with a laugh. “That was one hell of a signal.”
Anything I might’ve said faded away at the sight of my mom entering the ballroom, followed by her coven.
My heart soared, swelling in my chest. I had never been so happy to see anyone in my life.
Mom gave me one single look full of love and pride before turning to Connolly, who slowly tried to get to his feet while still watching my wolf circle him.
“I would say it's nice to see you again, Connolly, but we both know that isn't true,” she said.
“You,” he said with a laugh. “You hid her well.”
“I did what needed to be done to keep her away from you. And I would do it again. You know, I warned my sister about you.” Mom sounded so sad, heartbreakingly so. Her eyes welled with tears. “That you would hurt her, that you were using her.”
“Who?” he barked. “Harlow?”
“No,” another voice replied. “Me.”
The voice kicked me in the stomach. Familiar, like I’d heard it in a dream. Only this time, it didn't sound so faint.
Mom, Ostera, and Penelope stepped aside to reveal who had been standing behind them.
It was like looking in a mirror. We could have been twins. She was thin, with silver streaks in her blonde hair, but she looked and sounded strong as she faced the man who had ruined her life.
“Mom?” I whispered, because my heart knew.
The last missing puzzle piece of my life clicked into place.
She glanced my way, her mouth lifting at the corners—but briefly, so briefly.
She turned her attention back to Connolly, who stared at her open-mouthed. “No. How is this possible? You were never… It was not—”
“I was never supposed to escape? Yes, I'm sure you're right about that. You did your best, didn't you? Leaving me half-dead, having those pitiful sycophants of yours lock me away in your dungeon all these years. Drugging me. Keeping me dazed, and thus suppressing all location spells.”
In the dungeon… But I’d been in the dungeon and had never once seen her.
“I should have killed you when I had the chance,” Connolly snarled. “One flash of decency in my entire life, and look where it got me.”
“Indeed.” She laughed—a cold sound that somehow warmed me just the same. “But I woke up. I woke up when my daughter found her wolf. I knew it. In my bones, I knew she had awakened to who she is. And then, my coven removed all Moon wolf charms and spells from your home and found me.”
She slowly approached Connolly. “You destroyed my pack,” she growled. “Sent the Moon witches into hiding all these years. You destroyed so many lives, not only those of ones we loved, but countless others. But you have committed your last crimes.”
She turned to me, extending a hand. I went to her without thinking about it, with no conscious will. Something carried me—the connection between us. It had never gone away, even though I spent almost my entire life not knowing she existed.
I placed my hand in hers, and the warmth that sprang up between our clasped palms was like an electric current working its way up my arm, through my body.
“Would you like to do the honors?” she whispered.
Would I? Nothing would give me more pleasure.
I nodded, and her smile beamed with pride. She let me go, stepping aside.
I turned to my wolf, who met my gaze with that psycho-bitch gleam in her eyes.
“Harlow,” Connolly whispered. “I’m your father. This is unnatural.”
“So is asking me to sleep with my half-brother and killing your own son,” I countered, my voice flat. “Everything that's happening to you, you did to yourself.”
With that, I let my wolf do what she was so desperate to do. Kill.
Blood sprayed in violent arcs. Bones snapped. My wolf was ruthless as she bit and tore and maimed.
It didn't take long for Connolly’s shrieks of agony to go silent.
Chapter Twenty-One
It was the most surreal experience of my life, which was saying something considering everything I’d been through over the past several months. I’d gone from a college student afraid she was going to fail out of school to sitting in a mansion, surrounded by family I never knew existed with powers I never knew were possible.
I thought things like this only took place in the books I liked to read. Even back then, when I didn't know shifters were real, I was drawn to them. There was no way I could have known the truth, but my instincts were always there.
We sat in the library, away from all the death, to regroup and process what had just happened. Like the fact that I was now the Alpha thanks to my bloodline, but I kept changing the subject back to my moms. Both of them.
My bio-mom sat close on the couch, while the mom who’d raised me clasped my hand on my other side. Aimes stood behind me with a comforting hand on my shoulder.
“Maybe he just wanted to watch me suffer for the rest of his life,” my bio-mom explained, setting down the tea which Sorcha had prepared in the kitchen. “Or maybe he kept me alive because he still loved me in his own twisted way. He did visit me every day on the very bottom floor of the dungeon.”
“The bottom floor,” I breathed. “How many floors are there?”
“Three,” Aimes said gently, squeezing my shoulder. “I never thought to go down there and explore. I’m sorry.”
I shook my head. She’d been with me, right here, this whole time, often just two floors away from where I’d been chained to the stone wall myself. I’d never once felt her presence because our wolves had been charmed and spelled to stay hidden. Still, it made me sick that she’d been down there so long. I knew it made Aimes feel terrible, too, but none of this was his fault.
“But when all the wolf-shielding charms and spells were broken,” she continued, “I knew it was only a matter of time before Sarah found me. The Moon witch/wolf connection was still there and just as strong as ever.”
“I felt you, too,” Sarah explained with a teary smile. “I knew you were close.”
“This is all so much.” Aimes squeezed my shoulder. He hadn’t left my side since Connolly took his final breath. “Eventually, I’ll be able to put all of this together, but…wow.”
“You have plenty of time. There’s no rush anymore. Nobody’s going to hurt us or you.” My bio-mom growled a little, like her wolf was close to the surface. “Not anymore. Not ever again.” She turned her attention to Aimes. “You got her this far and protected her all the way. That means a lot. Thank you.”
“Protecting her is all I want to do.” His fingers caressed my neck and brushed the mated mark behind my ear, making it tingle.
“What happens next?” I blurted. That was the question at the forefront of my mind, plaguing me. “Am I supposed to, like, lead everybody now? I don't know how to do that.”
“Well…” my bio-mom began.
She and my aunt exchanged a look, both of them shrugging. It seemed like they had the same mental bond I had with Aimes, which made sense with the two of them being connected so closely. Finally, the witch and the wolf were back together again.
“There is a way you could avoid taking your place as Alpha,” my bio-mom admitted. “Aimes could challenge you. He is the former Alpha’s adopted son, after all. He’s not blood-linked, but the role could still be his.”
“Like a fight? I don't want to fight him,” I was quick to insist.
Aimes chuckled. “Not going to happen.”
The mom who raised me grinned. “You could surrender during the fight, and that would be it. He wouldn't have to lay a hand on you—or a paw, as it were.”
“But.” My bio-mom extended her hand, palm facing up. “That's not the way I've seen it. Your aunt tells me we share the gift of sight. Have you seen anything of your future yet?”
“Just the past. I saw you,” I added with a smile.
“I saw you, too.” Smiling softly, she curled her fingers, beckoning me. “Here. Place your hand in mine. You'll see what I see.”
For some reason, I was almost afraid. She sensed my hesitation for what it was and shook her head slightly, love radiating from her eyes, from her smile, from all of her. I had never felt so wrapped in love in all my life.
“There's nothing to be afraid of,” she whispered. “Just try. Trust me.”
On my other side, my other mom touched my arm and nodded, smiling encouragingly.
I took a deep breath and reached out.
The moment our palms touched, I felt that same sizzling sensation I'd felt back in the ballroom. It was warm, nice. Like sinking into a warm bath. It worked its way through me, loosening any last bit of tension my body clung to in the aftermath of so much trauma.
I closed my eyes and let the feeling wash over me from head to toe. That was when my vision cleared, and I was taken away from the library.
I was in the ballroom again, only it had been cleaned up, repaired, and was full of people. There was happiness, satisfaction in the air. A sense of unity and growth. Reunions, people hugging, crying, laughing. Building the pack.
I smiled in approval. All of it felt…right.
My mom's voice rang out in my head. This is what you were meant for. No more division. No more hiding, no more loss. All of us will be behind you, supporting you. You need only be who you are as you fulfill your destiny.
Tears rolled down my cheeks when I opened my eyes. “Is all of that really going to happen?”
“It's up to you,” she pointed out. “But yes, that's what I've always seen. Years ago, before you were even born, I knew what you were meant for. We're going to thrive again under your leadership. I am already so proud of you.”
“This is so overwhelming,” I admitted.
“One step at a time,” my other mom murmured, taking my other hand. She exchanged a glance with my bio-mom, then stood. “We have to find rooms for ourselves, and you’ll want to get cleaned up. Ostera and Penelope drove out to pick up enough for all of us, so we’ll let you know when the food’s ready.”
I thanked them, staying put on the couch until they left. Aimes circled around to sit with me.
Now I knew what it felt like to live through a natural disaster. That was the closest thing I could imagine. The shock, the exhaustion, the sense of aimlessness. I didn’t know what to do next, where to go.
I did the only thing that made sense—lean into Aimes’s arms. As he held me protectively, we went to our room, where Aimes turned on the shower so hot that steam billowed over the top of the glass wall.
We quickly undressed, and he held the shower door open for me, his mesmerizing smile lighting me up until I felt like I was glowing. Without a word, he tipped my head back, letting the water soak my hair. Then he began massaging shampoo into my hair. I sighed at the pure bliss of his touch.
This was what I needed. To be taken care of. He understood that without being told, working my hair into a lather before turning me back toward the shower’s spray so I could rinse. While I did, he soaped up a cloth and washed me, so carefully and with meticulous detail that it almost hurt my soul.
Only then did he speak, his voice soft. “What else do you need? What can I give you?”
“You,” I whispered back. “Just you.”
“I can do that.” The love in his eyes set my heart on fire.
In the middle of so much confusion and worry, there was the two of us, the only thing that made perfect sense.
“Do you think I can do this?” I asked, leaning against him as he ran the cloth over my shoulders and back.
“You can do anything, Harlow.” He kissed the top of my head.
“So long as I have you next to me, right?” I tipped my head back to look up at him.
“You will always have me next to you,” he vowed in a solemn voice. “Forever. There’s nowhere I’d rather be.”
Sighing contently, I wrapped my arms around him.
I had my fated mate.
I had two moms. I had my wolf and my Moon coven.
I had everything I needed.
There was nothing left for me to do but take my place as Alpha and fulfill my destiny.
“Okay,” I whispered. “Let’s do this.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Fancy cars and trucks pulled up in front of the mansion, one after another, and slowly the pack members began to emerge. After I'd sent word of their safety, they had found their way to us over the course of a week or so.
Witnessing so many happy reunions was one of the sweetest, proudest moments of my life so far. Because these were Aimes’s pack members. The smart ones who hadn’t dared go to the wedding, and the ones who’d survived.
If we were going to unite, this was as good a time as any. This was the place we had to start, helping each other, rebuilding together.
Kind of like with me and Jenny and Sloan. When the invitations had gone out for this event, Jenny had called here to talk to me, but she seemed at a loss of what to say. After all we’d been through at the Full Moon Games and the wedding, I couldn’t really blame her. Maybe she was still too stunned that she’d survived.
To fill the silence, I’d said, “Hey, remember that time you asked me if I thought about going into editing and publishing since I like to read so much? Do you know much about that stuff?”
It turned out she did. We talked for two hours, and that easy conversation immediately made me reapply to college with some amount of academic direction. Go me.
Jenny and Sloan were among the first to RSVP for the party tonight, with Jenny writing at the bottom of hers I can’t wait to talk to you again! Sloan had put a little heart on hers. I’d take that to her mean-girl vibes any day.
