Fever (Blood Moon Rising, #1) (12 page)

Yes, she hadn’t just wanted this - she
had prayed for it, had been begging for a change. And it had come
in the form of a hunky werewolf named Gage Johnson. With him, there
was no pretending, no hiding the fact she was a bit of a dork and
had a big imagination. He didn’t judge her like her friends had,
didn’t chastise her like her aunt did, saying she’d, “Better stop
daydreaming and get her head back in the real world.”

Being with Gage felt
right
, like she could be
herself and be accepted for who she really was.

When they arrived at the mansion, Nik
went to get preparations for the funerals underway while Gage led
Danica up to their room. She watched him as they walked, worrying
about the heaviness on his face and miserable she couldn’t do
anything about it.

When they were inside his chambers and
the door was closed, she nearly ran into him when he stopped
suddenly, staring at the floor. Without warning, he picked up a
vase and threw it across the room, where it shattered.

Danica jumped. It hadn’t entirely been
unexpected, but she didn’t have much of a taste for violence. Her
childhood had given plenty of that.

Gage punched the wall, driving his
fist through it. “DAMMIT!”

Danica stood frozen, unsure what to
do.

Gage’s shoulders heaved as he took in
deep breaths, closing his eyes as his composure broke, and all the
anger leaked out of him. With a sob, he collapsed to the floor,
shaking as tears ran down his face.

Danica immediately went to him,
resting a gentle hand on his shoulder. When he leaned into her,
putting his head against her chest, she cradled him and rocked him.
She didn’t say anything - she didn’t have to. For some things, just
being held, being close to someone, was enough.

She let him grieve, holding him until
he decided to sit up. “I’m sorry,” he said raggedly, wiping a hand
over his face.

“
For what?” she asked
softly.

“
For putting you through
that. I never meant for you to be dragged into this world of
backstabbing violence.”

“
Sssh,” she said, putting a
finger to his lips. “I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else except
right here, with you.”

He looked at her, a small smile
appearing. “You say that now just because you haven’t experienced
Thanksgiving with us.”

She snorted and sat down beside him,
their backs to the footboard. “At least you have a family to share
it with, no matter how dysfunctional.”

He studied her. “You spent the
holidays alone?”

She looked at the floor and
shrugged.

Gage grabbed hold of her and hugged
her to him. “I swear, you’ll never feel alone again.”

It sounded so wonderful. She didn’t
realize how much it meant to hear that until tears pricked her
eyes. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and pushed the
emotions back. She needed to stay strong for him. Losing his
packmates had broken a piece of him, and he needed her
strength.

“
So do you really think a
witch mafia is behind this?” she asked, sitting up and pushing a
strand of unkempt hair from her face. “Who are they,
anyway?”

He sighed hard. “The Underworld’s
races have houses of power, much like human’s. Some bloodlines are
ancient, going back into the dark ages. There’s been a lot of
bloodshed, and witches aren’t known for being modest when it comes
to conquests of power. It’s said there are two main mafias, the
Blackwater Brethren and the Order of the Sun. The two most powerful
houses are light and dark, or it used to be that way. Black Witches
are all but extinct, which is probably why the Blackwater Brethren
are the most desperate for more power. As for whether or not
they’re behind this, I don’t know. I wish I did. Some clarity of
motive is much needed about now.”

“
Can’t you hire a psychic
to spy on them or figure out what’s going on?”

“
That’s the thing. True
psychics are rare, even rarer than a trueborn Black
Witch.”

“
Trueborn?”

“
Born with the innate
disposition for a certain craft, whether it be black, white, red,
blue, green, or gray magic. Clairvoyance falls in the area of
white, though few White Witches or Warlocks are gifted with it. If
they all came psychic, we would have asked Penelope.”

Danica chewed on her tongue. This
world was turning out to be more and more complex by the minute.
She wondered if they had some sort of “supernatural Bible” she
could learn from.

“
Why do you think they want
to kill me?” she asked.

Gage’s gaze turned deadly. “More than
likely to unseat me. Could be for revenge, one of the contenders I
beat.”

Danica grasped his forearm and
squeezed.

He squeezed her hand back. “It’ll be
all right. I’ll keep you safe.” He pressed a kiss to her
head.

Danica smiled. She could look out for
herself - had been for a while now - but it was nice to know
someone cared.

They sat like that for a while before
Gage murmured, “I need to check on Nik, see how things are going
with the arrangements.”

She nodded. “Of course. Whatever you
need.”

He stroked her cheek, staring into her
eyes. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

Her cheeks grew warmer. “Well, I
consider myself pretty lucky to have met you.” She pecked a kiss to
his lips. “And I want you to know I’m here for you, no matter
what.”

His shoulders visibly slacked as he
rested his forehead against hers. They both closed their eyes,
enjoying a moment’s peace.

Sort of.

It began with a kiss, a slight tug of
the bottom lip, which quickly turned into something much hotter as
hands began to roam over naked flesh. Breaking away when she
reached for his hardening erection, Gage said, “Soon. I
promise.”

Kissing her hard, he started toward the
door. “I’ll post guards outside. Yell if you need anything, or just
think my name. I’ll hear you. I’ll be back soon.” With one last
lingering look, he strode out of the room, closing the door behind
him.

Danica stood there for a moment,
debating what to do. Next to hot sex with Gage, one thing in
particular sounded wonderful.

Heading to the massive bathroom
connected to the bedroom, the first thing she did was take a nice
long bath. After filling the tub with sweet-smelling bubble bath
she’d found amongst some more feminine products she assumed Gage
had set aside for her use, she lounged in the steamy
water.

It was a pity her intended couldn’t
join her. She saw the fear reflected in his eyes as he spoke of the
attempt on her life, and she wanted to do something to make it go
away. The fact he worried so much over her safety was endearing. No
one had ever shown that much concern over her before.

The dread he would someday run away
returned, making the air seem chilly despite the steam. Bitter
reality sank in as her common sense gave her a talking to. Popping
floating bubbles idly, she considered what the hell she was doing
here. Did she really want to stay? Gage had said mating was
forever, and forever was a long time to spend with someone you
barely knew. She couldn’t be stupid about this.

She sank deeper into the tub,
reclining her head back on the porcelain rim. She closed her eyes
and smiled. Seth had never looked at her the way Gage had in the
cave, like he couldn’t take in enough of her. For the first time in
a while, she hadn’t felt conscientious about the extra curves on
her body. She had felt desired, and it had been amazing. It also
made her wonder what was the catch?

Sighing, she began washing her hair.
Honestly, she could think of worst fates than being cosmically
linked to a hot werewolf forever. It wasn’t like she had much to go
back to - as in, no one. Even her cat had run off. She knew what
awaited her back home - an empty house, a job she could care less
about, and an empty life.

“
How depressing,” she
muttered, rinsing her hair out. She wasn’t afraid to be alone
because she’d been alone for most of her life. But was she just
staying with Gage because she didn’t want to be alone anymore?
Sure, there was a spark between them, and more than enough lust to
fill a room, but she knew she didn’t love him.

Yet
.

Could she grow to love him? Could he
grow to love her?

She didn’t know what scared her most:
the fact he could someday leave her, or what would her life be like
if she decided to walk away from him. Would she regret
it?

More anxious than she was when she got
in the tub, Danica got out and dried off after pulling the plug.
She dressed in another pretty white silk bathrobe and was drying
her hair while mulling things over when the door creaked
open.

“
I’m glad you’re here,” she
said, walking into the bedroom. “I need to talk to you.”

That’s when she looked around and
realized it hadn’t been the door that had opened. It had been the
window.

Inhaling a breath, she started to
scream when a gloved hand clamped down on her mouth.

“Good. You’re here,” Onyx said. “We
needed to finish our conversation.”

Chapter 12

“
Gage, are you
listening?”

“
What?” Gage blinked,
snapping back to reality as Nik’s concerned face came into view
once more. They were seated in the conference room, the same room
Gage had first gotten a glimpse of his lovely Danica half
naked.

Nik looked over his shoulder, at the
place on the wall where Gage had been staring. A knowing smile
spread across his lips. “Ah, the girl. You were thinking about
her.”

“
Maybe,” Gage said gruffly,
crossing his arms.

Nik leaned back and stretched his arms
above his head. “It’s all right. You don’t have to hide your
emotions around me. I won’t make fun of you for being a lovesick
pup.”

“
Shut up.”

“
You like it.”

Gage smiled, but the motion seemed
wrong. Like he shouldn’t be smiling with so much death and tragedy
hanging over his head. Clearing his throat, he sat up and leaned
his elbows on the table, his hands clasped together in front of
him. “I caught the part about the funerals being in two days. I’ll
call their loved ones in a moment so they can make arrangements.
Good thing Tony, Erik, and the kid were all locals. At least their
families won’t have to travel far.”

Gage tensed, staring at his
hands. He could just imagine the blood of his brethren on
them….
He
had led
them to their deaths.

“
Stop blaming yourself,”
Nik said quietly.

“
Who else is there to
blame? I was their leader. I should have been there.”

“
You can’t be in two places
at once.”

“
Then I never should have
split up the group!”

Nik pressed his lips together. Gage
knew by now that meant he was hiding something. “Spit it out,” he
snapped, already knowing what Nik was about to say.

Nik sat up and drummed his fingers
along the tabletop. “You might want to give the others some space
for a while. To grieve.”

“
It’s not just to grieve,
and you and I both know it. They’re angry with me. They know this
is my fault.”

“
Dammit, Gage!” Nik said,
slamming a fist down on the table. “Stop acting like you’re the
only one to blame! You’re not! If anything, Tony, Erik, the kid,
they all
decided
to
go. You didn’t make them.”

“
But didn’t I? When I
commanded them as their
Alpha
?”

Nik was silent.

Gage was coming apart inside. Wolves
felt the loss of a packmate as deeply as a relative. It was one of
the quirks of being bonded through pack blood.

But Gage also knew that while their
mistrust was natural, since he was the leader of a mission gone
horribly wrong, it had been there far longer. Malachite had ruled
with an iron fist. His atrocities and the abuse of his pack would
linger for many years. Gage knew taking on the position of
packmaster was not going to be easy, not when he had a band of
abused wolves under his protection.

And how good a job did you
do of protecting them?

Restless, Gage stood and decided to
pace.

Nik watched him silently from his
seat.

“
We’re still no closer to
finding out who was responsible for the hit on my mate,” Gage
said.

“
I’ll put the word out, and
I’ll ask Penelope to do the same. That name is bound to pop up
again. Still sounds like mafia involvement, if you ask
me.”

“
But why? Why kill my mate?
What do they have to gain by knocking me out of the leadership
position?”

Nik sighed hard. “That I can’t tell
you.” He looked at Gage warily. “Have you decided when you’re
having the mating ceremony?”