Oh, it's time for Dani and Khalid to come to Bloodmoon. Time for some cross-over chapters with events from The Reluctant Alpha.
If I were to send the talisman to Isis, I would need to send her a note. But of course, it couldn’t be something simple. I don’t know Dani’s sister or the vampires in her clan. So, I can’t trust them not to read the message. Also, I don’t want the werewolves to read it easily. So I wrote a note in the guild code so only Isis and maybe Aunt Sarael could read it. I wanted to use this chance to warn her of the dangers that remain in Bloodmoon. I could feel Dani’s confusion as she read over my shoulder. Well tried to read. “What is this gibberish? Are you playing Pictionary?” Dani questioned as I put the last symbol on the letter. “No, I’m using hieroglyphs that are part of a code that my sister and possibly my aunt will be able to decipher. I prefer to be cautious.” I shrugged. “Well, what does it say, or am I not allowed to know either?” Dani folded her arms. “Remember, I’m sending this to my twin sister. I need to be sure you aren’t doing anything that would put her or her clan in da
I knew coming to Oregon would not be easy for either of us. A lot of baggage is here for both of us. I’m glad we are starting with his first. The longer I can put off dealing with the clan, specifically with Byron, the better. Bringing Khalid around the clan is going to cause a lot of issues. My sister or Caleb could easily let it slip that Toño is my father, and he killed my newborn son. And Bryon, I’m about ninety-nine percent sure he will cause an issue. I turned Bryon, and even then wouldn’t be his mate, yet I’m rolling back into town with a Hunter for a mate. I predict an explosive confrontation. Could I have stopped the werewolf from punching Khalid? Of course. Should I have? Nah. It’s a family drama. I’ll protect him from most, but he must deal with his family. Plus, I think Khalid earned it. This won’t be the last time he’s hit while we are in Bloodmoon. When his sister rushed out, I recognized her. That recurring nightmare of Khalid’s that keeps seeping into mine flashed b
“Which yes, Auntie Sarael got a wolf when she and Uncle John marked each other, meeting the right conditions. But she can only shift on new and full moons. Her wolf is called Nova, and she’s really nice.” Isis explained. I didn’t think a human could get a wolf. “I see. Well, at least you have it if you need it, and you found Mother’s talisman. As for why I’m here. Given you’re even asking, they haven’t told you.” Khalid frowned. “Haven’t told us what?” They questioned in unison. I know why he wasn’t more specific in his message, but if he had been, maybe this wouldn’t be playing out like this. Then again, they figured it out in the end. Too bad it didn’t go the way everyone wanted. Caleb called me on our way here to inform us that the Bloodmoon traitor had escaped. “Wade escaped your Beta and Alpha,” Khalid said seriously. “What? That’s not possible. Wade isn’t smart, strong, or fast enough to get away from even one of them, let alone both. And I know they both wanted him dead.” K
I’m starting to think we should have gone to see the vampires first. I would have been less likely to get beat up. But we came to my sister first, and since arriving, I’ve been punched twice and choked out. Worse yet, Logan put his hands on Dani. I don’t care what he does to me. He can be pissed at me all he wants, but touching Dani crossed a line. She was trying to defend me. His mate would do the same for him, and if someone touched his mate, he’d have their head. But there is little I can do to retaliate since he’s the Alpha, and I’m in his territory. I need to play nice, at least for Isis’ sake. And don’t get me started on John. I would rather him keep hitting me than deal with his lecture. What would he have done in my place? Would he have left his mother to rot and ultimately be killed? Would he have killed her himself to keep his brother safe? Would he have ensured all the focus of hate went to him so his sibling could have some semblance of peace? “I ran to protect her.” I q
“Oh, we are well aware of how that went. Looking down from the plane to see a swarm of hunters fighting my packmates as we landed.” Kurt snorted. “The plane door barely opened, and my mate rushed out to save her aunt from your cunt mother.” “I remember rushing to protect her. I remember feeling the pain of her being stabbed. I remember only seeing red and waiting to stain the tarmac with your blood for setting that lunatic free.” I could see his eyes changing colors, his demeanor changing as he was on the cusp of losing control. “I went feral at that point. I couldn’t get to you. I thought Isis was dead.” I’m confident the only reason he didn’t lash out was that Isis was using the mate bond to control his rage. “The only thing that stopped me was knowing Isis was still alive. That I hadn’t lost my world. You can have all the best intentions in the world, Khalid. But you ought to know crazy when you see it. Sakina was crazy. And you ought to have known she couldn’t be trusted.” He sho
Whatever that blood oath or unbreakable vow was, it was damn powerful. Khalid tried to hide it, to keep me from feeling it, but I did. It was draining as fuck, and just like how his sister needed Kurt to keep her standing, he’s lucky I caught him and got him back to the sofa. I tried to lend him some more of my strength. Otherwise, he will fall asleep here and now while we are in the middle of some seriously heavy shit. Heavy in the sense that Kurt has a half-sibling in the care of his enemy Noya. I can see how that would be a huge liability for both parties. However, it does give us a better advantage. Kurt is older and therefore capable of controlling his link to this child. The child has just come of age and won’t know how to keep Kurt out consistently. So while the liability of being traced is, there is something more problematic. This child is possibly the product of Kurt’s father and his true mate, which to many would mean they have a stronger claim to the title—making them a v
Why does she have to do that? Piss me off? When I let her feed on me because our blood bags went bad, she was more than happy to remind me how I said she’d never get her fangs into me. It’s like she gets a kick out of pissing me off. I wouldn’t be surprised, given how much we fight and how many times that turns into sex. So why would it be any different this time? I probably should care more about being in my sister’s apartment. But as Dani’s fangs sink into my skin, into the rose mark she left on my skin, common sense goes out the window. That first puncture stings like a wasp, making me wince at that first moment. But then it all changes. Where a wasp sting would leave discomfort as a vampire, Dani controls what I feel from her bite. I should count myself lucky that she makes me feel pleasure. Not that she hadn’t already started getting me wound up before her fangs grazed my flesh. I should be worried about how much blood she’s draining. Instead, I’m concerned about how to get her
While we waited for word from Isis in her quest to retrieve the Argylls scepter from a Kinsley vault at the bank, Aunt Sarael caught me up on other things that have been happening while I was running for my life and in hiding with Dani. We talked about her wolf Nova and the rock on her ringer finger. I guess I missed a lot while I was running away and in hiding with Dani. Before long, we were called to the packhouse as there was a new development. I was not too fond of the idea of leaving Dani. Even with all the assurances in the world, she was perfectly safe sleeping at Isis’ apartment. But I left after making sure she was asleep and kissing her goodbye, earning myself a half-awake eye roll for disturbing her. We were directed into a large living room, where I can only assume every ranked wolf person and their guards were present, given how packed the room was. Aunt Sarael had me sit beside her while we waited for everyone else. When Isis entered, I stood up to greet her but was for
You miss many things when you’re a nocturnal being like me. I love being a mom and raising Zory with Khalid. But I know I miss out on a lot during the day. It makes it hard knowing that I’ve missed her firsts because I was sleeping. Even if Khalid records things so I can watch them later, it’s not the same. After I missed her first steps at nine months, I decided I needed to modify my sleep schedule. After all, I can safely walk around the house during the day. I can’t go outside with her to play during the day. So instead of waking up just after sunset, I started getting up three hours before sunset to spend time with her. I can’t ever wholly flip my schedule. I am still a vampire, and night is the only time I can leave the house. Plus, my Delta duties are centered around being the one nocturnal member of the ranked leadership. I am the one the pack comes to first for any emergencies after dark. I am the one in charge of the overnight patrol units. So I will never spend an entire da
Things moved so fast after we came home with Zory. We looked around Mount Adams and found an existing house we could agree on. From there, it was a matter of waiting for all the windows to be replaced with specialized windows that would block the harmful UV rays of the sun so that no matter what time of day it was, Dani could walk past a window without worrying if blackout curtains were drawn. Then it was a matter of furnishing the four bedrooms, three and a half bath, just over four thousand one hundred square foot home. Did we need a house that big? Probably not. But it has a guest suite that Dani thought would be perfect for Agustín to crash in when he comes to visit. Then Zory gets a bedroom, and we plan to use the fourth bedroom as her playroom. This may sound like a lot, but the amount of crap we’ve been gifted from the pack is insane. These people barely survived, living as rogues when we took Noya down. Now they’ve all been given jobs working either for companies that are par
Once at Aunt Sarael’s house, everyone quickly made their way to the living room, waiting impatiently for us to explain what was happening. How I have a baby and who the guy Dani punched is. “Alright, so I guess I’ll start at the beginning. I know you have many questions, but if you wait till I’ve finished before asking, I may answer them with what I’m about to say.” I started. “So, when Dani and I left Mount Adams, it was to handle personal business. That personal business was on my half, addressing the issue of dad and his bounty on me with the guild. And for Dani, it was revenge against her father who killed her mother, and she believed he killed her son the day he was born and later turned her and her sister into vampires.” “He thought it would be easier to start with the guild,” Dani explained, shifting Zory in her arms as she fed her a bottle. “An American hunter with a horrid name of Blaine, that Khalid failed to ensure was dead was turned into a vampire and helped broker a d
I don’t know who handled the flight worse, Zory or the cats. I felt a little empathy for the cats, but what little sympathy I had seemed to go down every time Asim would reach out from his carrier to take a swing at Dani or when Jordan or Keith would leave the cockpit to get food or use the bathroom. I know he was trained to distrust and attack all supernatural beings from a young age, but he will need to learn to get along with certain ones. At least the kittens seemed better about it than him, but they are young, so we can train them to accept certain vampires and werewolves as allies. I know it can be done. As I know Asim can understand, not all supernatural beings are evil. He must have known Isis was a hybrid all this time but still loved and protected her. Especially after her cat passed away, he took on the guardian role for both of us. Sure she had her cat, but that didn’t stop me from finding Asim curled up in her lap or on her bed. So I have high hopes he can be retrai
I never understood the phrase ‘slept like a baby.’ And while babies do not sleep for long periods, they generally have a restful sleep, having no real fears or concerns to weigh on their minds. I prefer to sleep like a log or like the dead. That was not happening with Zory in the room. She’s a newborn and was up every couple of hours, needing to be fed and changed. But once her needs were met, she went back to sleep. During one of her feedings, I managed to stop Sameer, the real one this time, in the hall and ask if there have been any messages for Khalid or me. He seemed confused that I knew his name, which reminded me that all my interactions with him weren’t him. But he had a note from Agustín telling me that he would meet us in Portland as Auðr was playing a festival in New Orleans, and it was easier for him to get to Portland than back here to Egypt. We won’t see him for at least another day or longer. I kept reminding myself I’d waited sixty years so that I could wait a few day
It’s getting hard to differentiate my emotions from Dani’s. We were both getting angry the most Diana talked. This was all some elaborate setup orchestrated by her? She’s just admitted to being the puppet master. Each time she opens her mouth, she’s digging a deeper grave. And when I think she’s going to hammer in that last nail, she says the most unexpected and absurd thing yet. I shook my head. “That’s not possible. No supernatural being could survive a photokinesis attack from an angel. They call it the Holy White Light for a reason. It cleanses a room of any supernatural being the light touches. Dani only survived because I shielded her with my human body and that table.” Dani struggled to find words, but her face hardened as she gripped Diana tightly. She finally found words, and they were laced with rage. “Agustín couldn’t have survived that blast. He was part of the ash pile with Toño. So stop telling me lies to save your neck. You orchestrated all this and thought you got t
I had a sinking feeling as we followed Sameer away from the others. I don’t know if it’s a sign of danger ahead or just that I’m numb. Some may suggest that I’m still processing my father’s and son’s deaths. They are only half right. There is nothing to process about Toño’s death. I’ve yearned for his death for decades. The only regret I have, other than I lost my son a second time, is that I didn’t kill him myself. I have a lot to unpack and process regarding Agustín. Both that he was alive all this time and that he died again. I still plan to corner Diana soon and drill her about that tidbit. Because if she has known all along that my son was alive… I don’t know what I’ll do. I may beat her within an inch of her life or kill her straight up. All I know for sure is if she’s kept my son’s existence from me our whole friendship, she’s dead to me. There was a lot that I was dreading about entering the room Sameer had to unlock. For all I knew, this was a double cross, and we were about
I don’t know what’s harder to believe. That Diana is here simply because she was Toño’s prisoner or Sameer supporting me had created a domino effect within the others from the guild down here. I’m going to go with the latter. It isn’t that I find Sameer believing me a hard pill to swallow. He’s been my best friend since we were in diapers. He is to me what Silvercloud is to Kurt. The person will always have your back, even if you lead them down stupid paths. “Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for the support. But other than Sameer, I find it hard to believe that you believe my words. We’ve all worked together as hunters, and while your dislike of me was never as apparent as Blaine’s, I still knew most of you didn’t like me because I was the Adio heir. So why believe me? Or is it more than you believe Sameer?” I questioned. “Khalid, my dear friend, have some more faith in your brethren than that. No one ever disliked you.” Sameer sighed, stepping closer. I arched an eyebrow because we kno
This is my worst nightmare coming to life. Toño is holding Khalid by the throat, his hand ready and itching to rip his heart out. He takes pleasure in killing people I care about, especially in front of me. I can’t let this happen! I can’t lose Khalid. Of course, the damn asshole would choose NOW to tell me he loves me. I haven’t heard those words since I was human. My backstabbing piece of trash boyfriend whispered them along with promises of marrying me and starting a family in America. Cirilo may not have meant it, or at least not unconditionally, but Khalid does. I can feel it through our bond. I started to move, hoping to get there fast enough. I won’t let Khalid die. I will not let my nightmare become a reality. I can’t just wake up and reach for his half of the bed to be sure he’s safe. This is happening, and if I don’t stop Toño, I will lose the man I love. Now I, like most vampires, can move very fast. But I’m not as fast as Caleb or apparently as fast as my son. All the co