Taken by Moonlight (36 page)

“Banishments
and Resurrections,” she read aloud.

Since her
arrival at the brownstone in Brooklyn, Cassie had taken a keen interest in the
spells. For one, she was in seclusion. Evelyn refused to allow her to so much
as leave the house without her company. That was the reason Vivienne was
upstate and she was in the city: to throw off the evil witch who was trying to
capture them. So, when she wasn’t watching television, which she hardly did
anyway since television had long since gone to the idiots, she was learning
spells. She had a quick memory, and the spells were interesting. She’d read
some ridiculous ones, some wicked ones, some funny ones, and now this.

Was this
even a spell book? With her finger securing the place, she closed the book,
searching for a title. The dark brown cover was clear of inscription, and she flipped
open to the first page. What she found there was a name, written in a flowing
hand.
Alexander.
It was either a coincidence or the book resting on her
bed belonged to the Alexander of her dreams. Cassie wasn’t one to believe in
coincidences.

Getting
into a comfortable position, with one arm by the book and the other propped at
the side of her head, she flipped back to the page where her finger rested, and
began to read.

Vivienne’s
breath came in shallow, energetic spurts as she sprinted through the cluster of
tall trees, moving with the ease and grace of a person familiar with the path.
She passed a shallow pond, a fountain with a howling, lone wolf statue atop,
and a few pack members lying around. She didn’t stop, just continued on, legs
pumping, heart racing as she felt the earth moving beneath her feet. A silver
and gray wolf was at her heels, his panting on level with hers as four legs
raced two.

Days after
her arrival at Cedar Creek almost a week ago, she and Eli had developed the
ritual of a morning race. When she’d first arrived, she’d been grateful to see
his smiling face among the skeptical and outright angry stares, and from the
moment he’d offered to give her a tour when Conall left for a meeting with the
Elders, he and Vivienne had been fast friends.

She came to
the black iron gates separating the estate from the wilderness behind it just
as Eli did. Vivienne prepared to put all her speed into the race back,
determined to beat him this time, when an unfamiliar scent made her halt. She
felt her bones rattle as they collided with muscle, skin, tendons, and fat. A
groan escaped her lips. The trick was to gradually slow down. She would have to
remember that when running at the perpetual speed of a bullet. Eli, obviously
more trained than she, carefully slowed, before running back to her.

Despite his
form, that of a medium sized silver-gray wolf with twinkling blue eyes, she
still recognized him. His smile was the same, and most times she could tell
what he meant by the gestures he made. From the way he cocked his side to the
side and blinked at her, she could tell he was curious to know why she’d
stopped.

She opened
her mouth to speak, but snapped it shut when the scent grew closer. It smelled
malevolent. Angry.

Eli began
to growl. His ears moved back, lying flat against his head, as teeth pulled
away from his lips. Gone was playful Eli. She prepared herself, mentally
throwing up shields even as her heart began to pound. What was it?

Conall had
gone into the city for a business meeting. He’d refused to leave during her
first days at Cedar Creek but when no trackers had shown up, he’d grown less
restrictive. She could actually leave the house without having him follow her,
or run with Eli without sensing the black wolf trailing at the edges of the
trees.

The more
time she spent with the alpha, the more Vivienne liked him. She’d never known
anyone quite like him. He was fiercely protective, and it was obvious his pack
respected him. It was no wonder he was their leader. When he’d first introduced
her to them, he’d introduced her as his mate, had glared steadily, and bitten
off the sentences, as if daring someone to squeak a word of protest. Although
he was a brusque and downright scary alpha, the man was caring and thoughtful,
and at nights when he took her, she felt his control, knew he held back for
fear of hurting her, and wanted him even more.

Eli’s teeth
snapped together as he pivoted to face ahead and growled once more.

“What is
it?” she half-whispered, fearing that Cronin had found her. Of all days, he’d
picked the one where Conall was not there. Convenient for him, downright
terrifying for her.

What’s
wrong, alainn?
Conall’s
voice was urgent, but her eyes were busy scanning the area. She felt him in her
mind, and knew he would understand.

Eli rushed
forward, halting before a thatch of shrubs. He barked, retreating a few steps,
only to rush forward again and snarl. To Vivienne’s surprise, a large, red wolf
leaped from behind them, growling at Eli, even as he snapped back at it. Three
more wolves emerged, forming a semi-circle behind the red wolf.

The red
wolf suddenly lifted its head and snarled at Vivienne, who took in the gleaming
white teeth and powerful build of thing, and thanked God her mother had taught
her those spells.

Eli moved
in front of her once more, and this time, he crouched low and waited. A warning
growl emerged and then he was advancing. The red wolf stepped back, snapped its
teeth together, and shook its massive head. Moments later, there was a bright
flash, and Vivienne blinked. When the light cleared, Samia stood there,
gloriously naked.

“You,”
Vivienne whispered, hastily lifting her gaze from the woman’s body to her angry
face.

“It
speaks,” Samia muttered in disgust, glaring down at Eli. “Step aside, whelp!” When
Eli only growled, she turned her gaze to Vivienne, and raked her with a
thorough glare. Vivienne returned it steadily. Samia had been trying to
intimidate her from the moment she’d entered Cedar Creek. From the bumps when
they met outside, to the long stares, to the flashing of razor-sharp, elongated
teeth, Samia was like a child sulking because she hadn’t gotten the toy she
wanted.

“You have a
pretty mouth.” She circled Vivienne slowly, and Eli followed her, keeping his
eyes on the redhead. Vivienne waited for Samia to make the first move. “Your
body is boyish and unappealing, your face barely pleasant to look upon, but
your mouth might come in handy.” She laughed softly and turned back to the
three lurking wolves. “What do you think? Shall I make her my new bitch?”

Heads
wagged in agreement and Samia smiled, tossing her hair.

“I agree. I
think I’ll make you my new bitch.” When Vivienne lifted a brow, Samia raised
auburn-colored brows and said flippantly, “Just because you’re supposed to mate
the alpha, doesn’t mean you automatically become alpha bitch.” She leaned in,
until her breath fanned Vivienne’s face. Even the woman’s breath smelled good,
like peppermints. It only made Vivienne angrier, but she managed to hold her
temper.

Eli, on the
other hand, seemed ready to take a chunk out of Samia’s pretty leg, so she
reached down and stroked his head, willing him to be calm.

“You can be
my pet, serving my every whim, my every fantasy.” Her eyes lowered to
Vivienne’s lips, and she licked hers. “Oh yes, I fully intend to make you my
bitch.”

With a
bored sigh, Vivienne shook her head. “Considering our anatomies, I would have
to say, in all fairness, that you would better suit the position of bitch than
I.”

A snicker
sounded from somewhere behind Samia and the redhead turned with a furious
glare. Whichever of her cheer squad had emitted it was silenced.

Eli’s
tongue popped from his mouth and lagged, a sure sign that he was laughing. In
another instant, a bright flash exploded and he stood beside her as naked as
Samia.

“You weak
bitch,” Samia raged, moving forward with a speed that Vivienne hadn’t
anticipated, but Eli had. Her arm was already raised, her claws unsheathed,
when he grabbed her arm.

“Touch her
and you’ll answer to Conall.”

Samia’s
eyes widened briefly before she shoved a smiling Eli away. He bumped into
Vivienne, and she held them both upright.

“I will
have my blood rite and when I do—”

Vivienne
laughed, stopping Samia midsentence.

“First,
someone will have to explain to me exactly what a blood rite is. Sounds
outlandish to me, but then again, that was what you were going for, wasn’t it,
Samia
?”

Samia took
another step forward, but stopped. She smiled wolfishly. “I’ll tell you what it
is. It’s me on top of you, ripping your skinny throat out.”

“Why,
Samia,” Vivienne began, shaking her head as if chastising a child. “I
am
going to mate your alpha. So please, any thoughts that you have about my lips,
or being on top of me, you really should try to forget. You’re a pretty girl,
but I don’t play for that team. Sorry.”

Vivienne
was having such a good time goading her with sarcastic and snide remarks, she
didn’t notice they’d picked up more of an audience.

After Sloan
had received an angry phone call from Conall, he’d stripped, jumped through a
back window, and allowed his nose to take him to Vivienne. The pack members he
passed, sensing his urgency, had followed. And there they all stood, watching
from the shadows as Vivienne bantered with Samia. She looked poised, an aloof
smile on her face, even as Samia raged against her.

“You—”

“Weak,
pathetic bitch? Weak, skinny bitch? Weak bitch? Or just bitch?” Vivienne shook
her head and clucked her tongue. “You’ll have to do much better than that.
You’re becoming boringly predictable.”

Samia
pushed into her face once more, and Vivienne did a mental count from one to
five to keep herself from ramming her backward. There was something called
personal space and Samia was all up in hers.

“You will
never satisfy him,
witch
,” she spat, and for all the venom in the word
she might as well have called her a bitch, or something worse. Vivienne sighed
and tried to look bored. Samia wasn’t finished. “You can’t satisfy him because
you don’t know how. Your kind is weak, barely better than a humans, and he will
grow tired of controlling himself so he doesn’t break you. Soon, he’ll leave
your bed and come to mine and while he’s there, I’ll remind him what a true
mate does for her wolf.” Samia paused, grinning as Vivienne tensed. “Has he
pinned you yet?”

Vivienne
allowed her guard to slip when her brows furrowed. What the hell did she mean
by pinned?

“No? Of
course not.” Pleased with herself, Samia smiled and leaned closer, placing her
lips directly over Vivienne’s ear. “He won’t pin you, but he always pins me.”

Somewhere
between Samia’s bringing up Conall and telling Vivienne that he’d pinned
her—she didn’t have to know what it was to know that it was a sexual act—a red
haze began to cloud her sight.

Sensing her
rising anger, Samia pressed her advantage. “Every night before he found you, he
fucked me like the animal he is, and pinned me under him. And every night after
he tires of you, he’ll do the same. Fuck me, pin me, mate me.” And then she did
it. The thing that pushed Vivienne over the edge. Her tongue snaked out and touched
Vivienne’s earlobe.

After that,
things happened in rapid-fire succession. Vivienne blasted her. She didn’t know
how, but she’d intended to shove her hard. Her hands hit Samia right between
her two perfect breasts, and the bitch went flying. Samia’s body made a
sickening thud as it collided with a tree, but she was up in seconds, charging
forward. Instinct drove Vivienne as she set her feet apart, let her arms fall
to her sides, and held her ground. Her body felt like an electrical circuit.
Something dark and utterly delicious had taken over.

The noise
in the background blended, becoming one garbled sound. All she could focus on
was Samia: Samia’s rapidly pounding heartbeat, the flowing red hair that
whipped behind her as she ran, the snapping of twigs and dry leaves as her feet
pounded against them.

Eli
appeared in front of Vivienne, but she sidestepped him, wanting Samia to
advance. She felt powerful. Invincible. And she’d had just about enough of that
bitch.

As Samia
closed in, Sloan was suddenly there, catching the angry woman and hauling her
backward. She screamed and clawed at him, and Vivienne watched as three long,
red lines opened along Sloan’s cheek before he slipped into a form that was
neither man nor wolf, but both. A hybrid form. He wrestled Samia to the ground
and held her arms above her head as she screamed obscenities.

Vivienne’s
vision cleared. The red slipped away and she shook her head, struggling to
understand what had just happened. Turning around, she noticed that several of
the pack members were staring at her in confusion.

“Stop!” It
was a growl, a warning.

Vivienne
looked back to where Sloan and Samia were. She was still struggling, and he was
restraining her, using more and more force. Suddenly, Samia stilled and Sloan
released her. She jumped to her feet. Immediately, Vivienne saw the rage, the
embarrassment, the pain in her gaze. She also saw the bright red mark in the
center of her chest where she’d hit her.