A Werewolf's Moon (The Council) (17 page)

If we had our own island, we’d be so cut
off,
we wouldn’t have to worry about fences to keep out the human neighbors, because there wouldn’t be any.

“Hey, I’m game.” I smiled. “I know
Pepper
would love it.”

With a nod, my father pulled out his cell phone. “I’m glad I’ve got your vote, and I’ll put in
Pepper
’s for good measure.”

“What does mom think?”

“I think she’s hoping to work on her tan.” My dad grinned. “Why don’t you go find her and tell her about
Pepper
? I’ll make your excuses and we’ll have the meeting as planned.”

“Thanks, I will.” I phased into the living room of our private wing. My brother was with Kylie on the couch. They were clicking through pictures of the island our father had been talking about on a camera. “Hey, mongrel, where’s mom?”

Kylie and
Garret
were enthralled in the pictures of the place that would probably be our new home base. They didn’t look up, but the
y
managed to answer at the same time.
“Kitchen.”

I headed down the hall, following the smell of lamb and potatoes. Damn, I was starving. I’d have to wait to go to lunch with
Pepper
and her father though.

Maybe I could sneak a few bites…

“Quinn!” my mom was at the breakfast table with Helene, the vampire queen. They too had pictures of the island. Though this set had been printed out. “Did you come alone?”

I frowned.
“Yeah, why?”

“I was hoping you’d bring
Pepper
.” She looked genuinely upset. “I want to meet the new addition to our family.”

Helene flashed a fanged smile. She was every bit as charming as Dmitri. He got his mojo from his mother. “Don’t look so shocked.
Garret
and Kylie can’t keep secrets from us.”

I rolled my eyes. “Did you beat it out of them?”

“No,” my mother feigned disappointment. “Unfortunately they cracked about two days ago without any violence whatsoever.”

“But they didn’t tell dad?”

Helene smiled. “Your father has been in Russia with Vlad for the last three days. I, however, am glad I was here to witness the confession.”

“
Garret
,” I growled, and heard him and Kylie run from the living room, down the hall. I’d sniff them out later if I had time. I didn’t want to risk not being there when
Pepper
woke up.

“So,” my mother patted the seat next to her and I dropped into it. “You turned Venna’s best friend. Bravo.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“Tonight is her first full moon?” Helene asked, concerned.

“She’s already feeling it.” I nodded.

“I’m here if you need help,” my mom said.
“Though Aunt Sarah is much better suited when it comes to turnings.”

Aunt Sarah was a little bit of a recluse. She didn’t get out much after her husband died. She found her mate in a human who didn’t want to be turned. He was determined to
live and die as the men before him had. He’d been a solider.
A confederate during the Civil war.
I was told by my aunt one of his legs had been blown off in battle. He’d come back from the war a broken man. It tore her heart out when he died a few months later. She’d wanted to save him, but he never agreed.

Poor Aunt Sarah.
She spent her time helping others through turnings. The magical community knew who to call on in times of need. My aunt never wanted anyone to know what it felt like to lose someone when you could have saved them so easily.

“Why don’t you pay her a visit?” my mother suggested. “She may have some advice for you.”

I kissed her cheek and said goodbye to Helene, then I texted Zane to see how things were. He said everything was fine, and
Pepper
was still asleep.

So I took a steady breath and phased.

I appeared in a dimly lit room. The windows
were covered in lace, the wood
floors with carpets of various shades and earthy tones. Potted plants hung from the exposed rafters. A gray wolf was lounging in front of a pair of bare feet propped on a stool.

“My darling Quinn,” my aunt stood, abandoning the book she’d been reading and folding her hands in front of her. “To what do I owe this lovely visit?”

Aunt Sarah wasn’t what anyone would think of as the typical recluse. She was beautiful, like some sort of angel. She had blonde hair and alabaster skin. Her violet eyes were unique for being a werewolf, and she didn’t look a day over thirty.

“Well, I need advice for a turning.”

“Ah, I see,” she also sounded like a southern belle. “Who is this human, and why is it you have chosen to bring them amongst our kind?”

“Well, she’s my mate.”

Sarah’s face lit with a megawatt smile. “Oh, that is truly wonderful! Dear, Quinn, I am so happy for you. I knew you would find your princess.”

We sat in matching rockers, and the wolf went to sleep. She always had some sort of canine companion. I felt bad for her. We tried to get her to come live at the compound, but she didn’t want to leave the old house on the hill. It had been built for her by her late husband as a wedding present. My mom and dad visited her a few times
a month, and Aunt Sarah would co
me to stay for the holidays, but that was it.

“I wanted to ask if there was anything I could do to make the turn easier on her.”

“Well, if she is not injured and in good health, there is not much. I’m more experienced with turnings where the person is on the brink of entering the next world.”

“You don’t have any advice at all?” I asked.

“You can try to make her more comfortable with heated blankets if she gets cold, or use ice packs if a pseudo fever sets in.” She smiled, “I tell everyone, just keep them calm, and it will pass.”

Keep
Pepper
calm? I wanted to tell my aunt that
Pepper
had a mind of her own, and if she wanted to freak out, she’d freak out. She wasn’t going to lie still and accept the pain. She’d fight it the whole time.

I chatted with Sarah for a few more minutes, telling her about
Pepper
and the island the family was looking at. She didn’t seem too thrilled about the idea of being in the middle of the ocean. I figured she’d come to visit, at least for Christmas.

Something twisted inside me, pulling at my chest. I shot out of my chair and nearly turned. The seams on my shirt ripped and heat spread through me. The wolf was being summoned, drawn out by something beyond my control.

“Quinn!”

It was
Pepper
.

I phased, apologizing to Sarah, and appeared in
Pepper
’s house. She was on the floor. A man was hovering over her. He looked up at me. His face went three shades of white then green. “What the hell? How…how did you?
Zane…where’d he go?”

I shook my head, kneeling beside him.
“
Pepper
?”

Her eyes were open. She smiled. “Hey, you’re back.”

“What happened?”

“I don’t remember…” she frowned. “Is the air on? It’s really hot in here.”

I felt her forehead. Shit. Shit. Shit. She was on fire. I glanced up at her dad and forced a smile. “Sir, I’m Quinn. Sorry we had to meet like this.”

He stood, backing away from us. “What the hell is going on? What is wrong with my daughter, and what in God’s name are you?”

Pepper
put her hand up to silence me. “Daddy, this is Quinn. He’s a werewolf. He accidently turned me, but don’t worry, I’m going to be fine.”

Her father stared, dumbstruck from me to her. “What are you talking about?”

With a shake of my head, I picked
Pepper
up and set her on the couch, thinking her dad wasn’t going to take this well. I’d be calling Zane back to fix his memory. The kid must have high tailed it as soon as I appeared. I couldn’t blame him, since this wasn’t something he needed to be involved in.

“What did you do to my daughter?” her father started toward me.

“He bit me,”
Pepper
was still out of it. I wasn’t sure if she knew what she was saying. “But that’s okay, I told him to.”

“Get the hell out of my house and stay away from my little girl!” He roared, face red. A vein popped out at his temple. The good captain looked ready to snap.

I glanced down at
Pepper
. She’d passed out.

“Sir,” I held up my hands, backing away from him. “I did nothing to hurt her.”

“Doesn’t look that way to me.
Is it drugs? You slip her something?” he pulled the phone off his belt and began to dial.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“Calling for help,”

Okay, so this wasn’t what I needed. I started for him, letting my eyes glow, showing a hit of my fangs. “Mr. Peterson, you don’t know who you’re dealing with. I suggest you put the phone down and do exactly as I say.”

The phone slid out of his hand and hit the floor. “Holy…Lord.”

I had to make him forget. It wasn’t right to put him through this. “Just wait here. I’ll be back.”

I phased to the Langley house in France, hoping to find someone home to do a quick memory charm.

Pepper

I felt my head spin. My mouth was so dry, and my skin so hot. I came to looking for Quinn. It was my dad hovering over me though. He didn’t look good, a little pale, and his eyes were huge and round “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Quinn is a werewolf…”

“Crap,” I sat up, feeling like a creaky old lady. Every part of me was stiff and ached like hell. “Yeah, but he’s a good werewolf.”

“He just disappeared.” He mumbled, running a hand over his buzzed brown hair.
“Poof.”

I frowned, gripping the back of the sofa to keep myself upright. “Where’d he go?”

My dad shrugged. “Don’t know. I hope he never comes back.”

I wasn’t sure how to explain, “Dad, I know this is hard to take in, and that you probably feel like you’re going crazy, but…”

A prickle worked its way up the back of my neck. The skin on
the back
of my arms crawled. And there was a smell.
Something rotting, and a little meaty.
I wanted to heave, but instead I turned, following where the smell wafted from.
Behind me at the backdoor.
In the daylight I could clearly see a dark figure standing on the other side.

No, it was just a dream. Dreams don’t turn into reality.

“Daddy, run!” I lurched off the couch. The backdoor flew inward. A monster with red eyes and dripping fangs appeared in the doorway. He leapt across the room, vaulting over the couch for me.

“No,” my dad shouted, knocking me to the floor.

I rolled over and caught the sight of that thing dragging my father out the backdoor. It didn’t look like a werewolf. His skin was so much darker than Quinn’s. He didn’t smell right either. It all just felt wrong.
“Dad!”

I struggled to my feet and ran into the yard. I went as fast as I could, heading for the dirt road behind my house that lead into the woods for the lake.

“Quinn?” I screamed, terrified that thing was going to kill my father. I stopped in the middle of the road. My heart plummeted in my chest. My dad was face down in the dirt. “Take me, not him!”

The monster hovered over him. He was massive.
Twice the size of a normal man.
His clothes were dirty and torn. He had a hood covering most of his head, and his greasy brown hair stuck out from the sides underneath. His eyes locked on me.
Red eyes.
But then they flashed black. “You are a willing sacrifice?”

I nodded, walking slowly toward him. “Yes, I’ll go with you if you promise not to hurt him.”

A gust of air blasted me from behind. I was shoved to the side, away from the creature. For a second I thought there was another monster. And it was.

My werewolf.

Quinn
flew
past me. His shirt
tore
in half as
the beast inside him took over
. His back rippled, muscles bunching and making him appear even larger. He leapt for our attacker, taking him to the ground. He raised a closed fist and slamm
ed it into the monster’s skull.

The other werewolf pulled back, slashing his claws down the Quinn’s chest. I couldn’t see how bad the wound was, but then Quinn retaliated with a similar blow,
gushing
an inky black blood.

The werewolf kicked his feet, and sent Quinn flying over his head into the bushes by the road. The ground trembled under my feet. It was too much to take in, watching them charge at each other again.