An Unlucky Moon (16 page)

The leering looks, however, creeped her out.

It was as if they didn’t care she totally knew they were picturing her naked and other…things. She held back a shudder at the thought.

Gods, she just wanted to go home.

“The council is waiting for you both inside,” the first man who had stared at her said.

She raised her chin and passed the group of men, Hunter by her side, and tried not to let any of them brush against her.

She couldn’t be responsible for their safety if they acted on their thoughts with Hunter around. Hell, she had to hold herself back from slapping a few of them herself.

Where were all the women?

They walked into the large room with high walls and vaulted ceilings, and Becca knew this had been a mistake. She shouldn’t have come. She should have just ignored the summons and stayed within the den walls with Hunter.

Yes, that would have been the cowardly way out and might have started a war, but hell, she had a bad feeling about this.

Okay, fine, she wouldn’t have stayed away, but the thought was nice.

Five men sat on emerald-green chairs that looked to actually
be
made of emerald. Four of the men glared at her but didn’t look any more dangerous than the men she’d passed.

The fifth, however, made her stop in her tracks.

“Jason.” 

He sneered at her, all semblance of the nice guy he’d tried to be before gone. Not that he’d ever been too nice before as he’d always creeped her the hell out. She’d only studied with him out of habit and her inability to say no. In his place was a man who leered at her like the rest.

“It’s good to see you, my Becca.”

“I’m not your Becca,” she spat. Was nothing like it seemed? Her study partner who used to be bane of her existence was a leprechaun?

What else didn’t she know?

“I see, Hunter, that you never told your so-called mate what I was,” Jason teased.

Becca stiffened. That’s right. Hunter had met Jason once before. He must have sniffed him our or something. Why hadn’t he said anything?

Her mate leaned toward her, his lips brushing her ear. “I honestly forgot. He didn’t mean much to me, and we’ve had other things to worry over.”

She nodded, relief filling her. Hunter had told her when Dorian had tried to pry them apart. There was no reason not to trust him now. Jason had been a pest before. Now he seemed to be a pest with power.

Oh hell.

“Are you done mooning over each other so we can begin?” Jason asked.

Becca narrowed her eyes at the skinny little man who’d only annoyed her before. Now he pissed her off.

“Good,” Jason said. “Congratulations on becoming something better than the little human you were.”

Becca blinked. Seriously? What was it with other species thinking they were better than others? Sure, humans had their own issues with thinking they were better than other humans, but hell, why couldn’t people just get over it?

 “What is it you wanted?” she asked, sidestepping his taunt. She winced as she heard her own words. Not exactly the most gracious of things to say, but it had already been a long day, and things didn’t look as though they’d get better any time soon. Sure, she’d wanted to act demure—okay, at least sociable—when meeting the people who apparently shared her genes on some basic level, but it didn’t look like that was going to happen any time soon.

Jason glared for a bit then sat back on his chair, looking like a petulant child used to getting what he wanted. “Since you’re now a leprechaun, you are under our rule. You’re from a long line of glorious people who have fought wars and battles in order to gain our freedom. You might not have grown up within the leprechauns, but you are now one. You are part of us. You will obey us.”

Becca blinked at Jason’s convolved speech. An uneasy feeling spread through her, mixing with the anger, fear, and anxiety already crawling around in her belly. 

“That means you get to stay here with us and become part of our culture. You’re ours now, Becca.”

“There’s no way that’s happening,” Hunter growled, and Becca agreed.

Jason raised a brow. “You, wolf, have no rights here. You were only allowed through our wards in the first place because you’re mated to one of ours. That bond, however, will have to be severed. There’s no way we’d let the likes of you into our fold.”

“You can’t do that,” Becca said. True halves and mating bonds weren’t something a person could change. That, at least, she knew for sure. If not, she’d been fighting the idea of it at first for no reason.

That, though, wasn’t what made her heart hurt. Just the thought of losing Hunter made her want to scream…or do something. 

He was
hers
. 

No one had a right to take him from her.

“Oh, I wouldn’t disagree with me, darling,” Jason crooned. “When you join us, you’ll be mine. A Breeder. You’ll bear our young and enjoy the sensual pleasures of any man who wants you. Our culture is different from yours, so you’ll have to get used to it. It’s not something for the…faint of heart, but you’ll like it. I promise. It’s in your blood.”

Revulsion slid through her.

Holy. Hell.

A Breeder?

No. Fucking. Way.

“We’re done here,” Hunter growled.

He took her hand and pulled her through the door. Becca looked back over her shoulder at Jason, who merely smirked at them. Oh, she had a feeling he might let her and Hunter leave the realm if they wanted, only to keep from inciting a war, but this wasn’t the end of it. 

Not by far.

Though some of the men stood in their way, the look on Hunter’s face must have warned them away. The moved to the side, their arms still over their chests, their gazes still roaming her body, but they didn’t stop them.

This, however, was only be beginning.

Hunter pulled his own portal, and they found themselves within the Pack’s wards in another breath.

“Holy shit,” she whispered.

Hunter pulled her into his arms, his body shaking. “I don’t care what we have to do, you’re
never
going back there.”

She nodded then kissed him hard, needing to remind herself what was real and what was a threat. She had known it was going to be hard becoming something new, but she’d never thought it would be like this. They were monsters.

The others she’d met had been the nightmares that haunted dreams. They’d threatened and tried to scare her. Okay, they
had
scared her.

What the hell were they going to do?

Chapter Twelve

A week later Becca’s arms were full with an adorable wolf pup, and her heart had settled. The little guy licked her chin, startling a giggle from her. Okay, so she sounded like a teenager, but come on.

Wolf. Pup.

This little dude was the definition of adorable.

“They make your heart just melt right down, don’t they?” Leslie asked, holding a pup of her own.

The other woman had stopped by for their daily snack and gossip. Without Leslie, and even Liam and Alec, Becca wasn’t sure she’d have made it stuck inside the den for so long. Between her change, the dangers from those who had taken her, the fact that she wanted to be near Hunter and get to know him, and the whole leprechaun thing, her time within the den walls kept increasing.

She missed her friends.

Hunter had offered to take her to the human realm so she could see them. He’d even offered to stay there for months. Becca, though, had put him off. She wanted to see her friends, but she knew Hunter needed to be here right now with the state the Pack was in, and Becca needed to be by Hunter’s side.

She’d go back to her other home soon, even if it was just to remind herself that people liked her.

Though Becca had tried, she really hadn’t melded with the rest of the Pack as much as she’d wanted to. People were still leery of an outsider and even more so of her because of what she’d turned into.

They’d never met another lightning-struck person before.

Sure, she’d met only her friends, but they didn’t make her feel like a freak. Well, maybe Faith did, but that was only because her friend loved her. The other woman loved being snarky to her friends. That’s how she showed her love.

The other members of the Pack, save a few, gave Hunter a wide berth also. Yeah, they came to him with their issues, and he hugged, cuddled, and helped them like a Beta was apparently supposed to do, but it wasn’t the same.

Even an outsider like her could see the ambivalence the other members of the Pack felt about the wolf who had spent so much time fighting and killing in the demon games in the pits of hell. They didn’t know what to make of him.

 Hunter deserved more than cautious looks and bland smiles, but she didn’t know how to help him. Honestly, she still didn’t have a place for herself within the Pack, so it made no sense for her to try to make a place for him.

Today, however, she’d taken a step in joining the Pack in spirit, as well as body.

Today was babysitting day.

“I think I’m in love,” Becca said as she nuzzled the five-year-old pup in her arms. He yipped then licked her chin again, causing another round of giggles.

“Brandon is a cutie, isn’t he?” Leslie asked as Dylan, Brandon’s twin, wiggled in her arms.

Apparently the twin boys’ mother was a big
90210
fan.

“And they know it.” Brandon pulled away from her to crouch low on the ground, his little butt wiggling in the air as he growled.

Becca rolled her eyes but tackled him like he wanted anyway. She was careful not to put any weight on him as he was just as careful not to let his claws out while he climbed all over her. Hunter had told her that pups were taught from their first shift, around age two, that they needed to keep their claws in while playing. Though wolf shifters healed quickly, that didn’t mean children should rough each other up in wolf form. Plus, as babies and children, they loved wrestling with adults in human form, as Becca was doing now.

She wasn’t sure if she healed as quickly as shifters, as she hadn’t wanted to cut herself to see, but most leprechauns, according to Hunter, could heal slightly faster than humans, just not as quickly as wolves. From what she’d seen from her friends, Becca knew she’d get the full powers of the leprechauns, but that didn’t mean she’d have them right now. Jamie and Lily had received all of their relative powers, just not right away, so maybe Becca would be the same.

That the den mothers trusted Becca enough to let her watch the twins—even with Leslie by her side—told her that some were trying to include her. She’d just have to try harder to make the next steps happen.

“When did you say Hunter would be home?” Leslie asked as she tickled Dylan.

Becca grinned despite herself. Simply hearing the man’s name made her happy. She had it bad. “He said he’d be home soon.” Actually, after he’d kissed the hell out of her and nipped along her neck leaving his mark for all to see, leaving her wanting and a bit dazed, he’d said soon. 

That had been over an hour ago.

“He said he was going to meet with Liam and Alec, right?” 

“Yeah, but I don’t know about what exactly. It’s not that he’s secretive, it’s just…” She couldn’t articulate what she meant exactly. It was more that she figured Hunter was used to being on his own and not having to tell people where he was going and for what exact purpose. Becca didn’t need to know everything either. There was a difference between knowing they’d be back and demanding to know everything.

“It’s just that he’s the Beta and has things to do,” Leslie finished for her, and Becca nodded.

Brandon nudged her hand, and she felt a light warmth radiating
from
her palm. Becca spread out her fingers, letting the tingling sensation spread through her fingers. That had been happening a few times over the past week or so, but she didn’t know what it meant exactly. To be careful, she pulled her hand back so she wouldn’t hurt the pup.

Brandon shifted into his human form, leaving a naked little boy in the wolf’s place. He quickly pulled on his clothes he’d left in the middle of the room then sat in front of her, his little brows scrunched up.

“What was that?” Brandon asked.

“I’m not sure. I think it’s my powers.” Well, she was pretty sure that had to be it, but she didn’t want to make any rash judgments.

“Do you know what you can do yet?” Leslie asked, petting Dylan, who remained in his wolf form.

Becca shook her head. “I think I’m supposed to be able to heal. Eventually. Leprechauns, like other species, have different forms of magic. Since mine seems to be centered in my palms, Hunter thinks it has to do with healing. He also told me that I might need to find another leprechaun to help me figure out what to do.”

Leslie frowned. “And that doesn’t seem like a possibility.”

That was an understatement. There was no way she’d risk asking someone she didn’t know and end up in a Breeding program. She held back the shudder that came with that thought. “Nope. I might ask Ambrose, though, when I get back. He’s old as hell, as I like to tease him, so he might know more than others.”

“It’s as good an idea as any.”

A slight burn arched across her chest, and she gasped. Hot pain sliced along her mating bond with Hunter, and she cried out.

“Hunter.”

“What is it?” 

“Something’s wrong. Oh sweet gods, it’s the bond.” She put her hand over her heart, trying to make the pain stop, but it only intensified. 

Hunter was hurt.

Badly.

Leslie’s eyes glowed, and she held out her arm toward Brandon. “I have the kids. Go.”

Becca didn’t know what good she’d be if Hunter was in trouble, but the bond pulsed, creating agony. Hunter needed her, even if she might not be so much help. 

She needed him.

Gods, he had to be okay.

She threw on her shoes then slammed out the house, following the pull of the bond rather than a firm direction.

The smell of smoke hit her first, burning her nostrils, irritating her eyes.

Footsteps pounded on the ground behind her as others felt the fear in the air and caught sight of the tall, billowing column of black smoke coming from one of the older buildings in the den.