Chapter 17
WARNING: SOME STRONG LANGUAGE AND SITUATIONS
Duncan bit down hard, tasting his mate’s blood. In an instant, he could feel all of her pain; it was unbearable. He called out for Apollo for help, but instead, he felt Artemis surrounding him with warmth. That was when he passed out.
Adira was floating on a wave of pain, unable to escape it. She felt so alone. She could hear Duncan in the dark distance, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying. She lay on the dark ground, hugging her knees, when she felt light by her side. She looked up and there was Artemis, wrapping herself around Adira.
Adira could hear her heart beat, and as she listened, the pain lessened. There was a lonely-sounding howl in the distance, getting closer and closer. Adira wasn’t afraid of the howl; she thought it sounded beautiful, making her feel calm and warm inside.
With each howl, the pain lessened more and more.
“Adira?”
“Yes, Artemis?”
“Open your eyes.”
“There isn’t anything to see but inky blackness.”
“No, little one, look. It is no longer dark at all.”
Adira opened her eyes. Before her was the single most wonderful place: little fairy lights danced lazily around, and a gentle wind carried the scent of blooming flowers. A little brook ran through the middle, providing the sound of moving water to the background.
The sky was the brightest blue, and the sun's rays danced in and out of the little clouds. Then she saw them: a man and a wolf standing side by side. Looking at them in the distance, Artemis danced around Adira’s feet and then took off running toward their two visitors. Adira couldn’t help herself; she took off running too.
The closer she got, the more she realized who the visitors were: Duncan and Apollo. She ran even faster until finally, she was leaping into Duncan’s arms, laughing in complete happiness. The pain was all forgotten as Duncan twirled her around and around.
Once their joy subsided a little, Adira asked Artemis, "Where are we, Arty?"
“We are in my realm, little one. This is where I stay when I am apart from you."
“You couldn’t take any more of the pain. I think whoever gave us that poison meant to kill us eventually. Duncan and Apollo saved you by marking you, and I took everyone here. We will all be here until the sun rises again. Then we go home. We have to follow the rules of the Goddess, though, to do so. I will explain that later, and don’t be alarmed if time moves slower here than out there.”
“Now we play, relax, and then learn each other.” Artemis backed away and then came at Adira at a full run, knocking her down. Adira was laughing so hard; Artemis was using her snout and teeth to tickle her.
Duncan was laughing at them both as he was hit from behind by Apollo. Next thing he knew, Apollo was doing the same thing to him. All you could hear were giggles and playful growls.
Eric was excited with anticipation all through dinner with the Mayson’s. He was the perfect gentleman; he thought he was funny and the life of the dinner party. Mostly, though, the Mayson’s thought he was a bit creepy; his sense of humor was a bit too dark.
Joann was the quiet one; she barely spoke more than five words all night. She did laugh at all her husband’s jokes, though, which seemed to encourage his overconfident attitude.
They were very happy when the evening came to an end and it was time for them to part ways. They said their goodbyes, and when they got into their car, both of them gave a sigh of relief.
Eric and Joann drove home in silence. It wasn’t unusual for them; it was how they preferred it. When they reached their place, Joann got out of the car. “I will go get us a bottle of our favorite wine, remember the one we drank at our wedding? I will get everything set up for just the two of us.”
When Eric entered their little dining room, it was lit with candles. Joann was waiting for him in one of the chairs, wearing the red silk teddy he loved so much. He had to admit that even at this age, she still had a great body.
She got up with the bottle of wine and handed it to him. She kissed him. “Why don’t you pour us each a glass while I go get the pie for us to enjoy?”
He watched as she went into the kitchen. He poured them both a glass and then added the poison to hers. She came in with the pie, this time only wearing an apron. She smirked at him as she sat his piece in front of him. Together, they toasted each other. She drank all her wine down in one gulp, and he smiled.
He picked up his fork and ate his piece of pie plus another, in anticipation of waiting for the poison to kick in. It didn’t take too long, and she was doubled over in pain, rolling on the floor in agony. He started laughing at her when it hit him. The pain was horrible. Before he knew it, he had joined Joann on the floor, writhing in agony.
She saw him fall, and though she was in terrible pain, she laughed maniacally.
By morning, both were dead. Their bodies lay there for weeks, stinking with decay, until the landlady found them because they were late on their rent.
When Jack got back to their den house, his second came to him to report on the she-wolf.
“She had a rough time of it for a while there, but now she is sleeping normally, and her heat is all but gone now.”
“Thank you for taking care of it, Sam. It couldn’t have been easy.”
Sam laughed. “It was no dang picnic, I’ll tell ya!”
“On a more serious note, what do you plan to do with her, Jack? I know she isn’t innocent, but I have a feeling there is more to her story than meets the eye.”
“I know, Sam. There are a lot of things that are finally adding up, still though, there are so many questions unanswered.”
“Have her ready to go in the morning. I want her hands bound, though. I want her to know she still has to face the consequences for the part she played in all this.”
“I will take her to the King and see if she has any more information to tell us. I will let him decide her fate.”
When Jack got to his room, he sat on the end of his bed in sheer exhaustion, running his fingers through his hair. His thoughts went to the things he found out about the royal house. He found it strange that the Prince was off on some island when he was scheduled for Royal Guard duties.
Something just isn’t in the picture fully yet, and he was determined to find it out. There is no way that Alpha Micheal could have come up with the money to fund the opening of such a big scheme.
He hoped to find the Alpha’s account books, the real ones this time. Find out who is all tied to this—every pack, every human, everywhere. He wants to find other pack members of Rising Moon, to see how far the abuse goes. He has a feeling he wasn’t going to like the answer.
Alpha Micheal was in his own apartments in the second pack house, playing nice with some big-time drug dealers who were really interested in Aphrodite’s Kiss; how to mix it for both shifters and humans.
Alpha Micheal realized that tomorrow night was the full moon that his wolf had mentioned. He wondered if anything would happen. Probably not; his wolf was always a righteous prick and a coward.
Micheal smiled in the darkness, thinking of his father and wondering what he would think of what Micheal did to his pack. He could still hear him yelling at him, “What did you do this time? I simply don’t understand what is wrong with you, boy.”
Right now, his guests were enjoying themselves with a couple of his females, a little demonstration on how it works with females. He will know their decision in the morning. The Prince decided to play the role of the coward and backed out of his deal. He didn’t get refunded what he paid up front, but Micheal wasn’t going to gain any more money either.
Now that his search for that little bitch wasn’t so urgent, he could take his time to get his revenge. Fucking Werebears, they messed everything up by getting involved. It doesn’t matter anymore anyway because he now knows where the female really is. They thought they were so clever; I will show them how to be sneaky and clever.
I should know; I have pulled the wool over so many inspector’s eyes.
Speaking into the darkness of his room… “The game is up, assholes. Time for round two.”