Tears of the Moon Read online

  “Come in,” Vasile said loud enough to be heard.

  The door opened, and Nissa walked in with Cindy Morgan and three other women. Lilly recognized one of them as the queen of the sprites. She couldn’t remember the names of the other two. Though she’d been to the sprite realm several times over the past couple of months, her brain was overflowing with information and she couldn’t remember every name of the sprites she’d met.

  “Vasile, Alina,” Nissa said as she gave a slight bow.

  “Nissa, thank you for being willing to help with travel,” Alina said as she stood and walked over to the high fae.

  “It’s the least I can do. The fae have sat back for far too long. We realize that now. I am sorry that it has taken so much loss and pain for us to join Peri in her cause,” Nissa said.

  She stepped to the side so the other four women could come further into the room.

  Cindy stepped forward first, hugged Alina, and shook Vasile’s hand. “It’s good to see you,” she said.

  Alina chuckled. “It’s good to see you, as well, Cindy, and I am sorry about the magic I used on you. I wish I had known you weren’t human.”

  “You were protecting your pack. I understand that. Sally loves you all, and I know she is safe with you.” Alina started to interrupt but Cindy held up a hand to stop her. “What happened to Sally is not your fault. It is nobody’s fault except those who took her. It could have happened in our care, as well, probably much sooner, and it could have been worse.”

  “You are gracious, Cindy Morgan,” Vasile said as he stood and moved next to his mate. “And we thank you for that.”

  Cindy nodded and then motioned to the three women beside her. “Please allow me to introduce Andora, the sprite queen, Diedre the leader of the luminous sprites, and Aurora, the leader of the elemental sprites.”

  Andora stepped forward and bowed her head to Vasile and Alina, who did the same in return.

  “It is an honor to meet you, Vasile and Alina of the Romanian Grey Wolves,” Andora said and then turned to Lilly. “It is good to see you, as well, Lilly.”

  “Thank you, Queen Andora,” Lilly said.

  “I must admit, it has been over two centuries, nearly three, since I have thought of the sprites,” Vasile said as he motioned to the seating area in his office. “The last time anyone even spoke of the sprites was when I was a child. That was when a new queen ascended the throne.”

  Andora settled herself on the couch, folding her hands in her lap, her long silver hair cascading down her shoulders. A small smile formed on her lips. “Yes, it’s been about three centuries since I took my mother’s place as queen. And they tend to try and keep to themselves, though I realize that it wouldn’t be prudent of us to stay silent in the current state of affairs.” She paused, her eyes becoming momentarily unfocused as she seemed to get lost in thought, but the diversion lasted only for a second. “We have much to discuss, Alphas,” Andora finally said as she looked at Vasile and Alina. “The Order is on the move, attempting to recruit supernaturals, and they aren’t being secretive about their actions.”

  “That either means they’re confident or desperate,” Cypher said as he stood, leaning a shoulder against the wall next to the door. Lilly noticed he hadn’t joined them on the couches and, when she met his eyes, she could see his worry.

  “Which do you think?” she asked him.

  “Probably desperate.”

  Vasile nodded. “I agree. They are acting out of haste.”

  “I think we must not hesitate at this critical juncture,” said Andora. “I suggest we have all of the leaders of the supernatural communities meet. We need to know who will align with us against the Order. We also need to know and understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. As such, we shall be made stronger. For example, Aurora and the rest of the elemental sprites can control the weather. This might allow us to bring unplanned chaos to the Order, thereby offering us an advantage. We can attempt to thwart their plans while we try to organize our own.”

  “I agree,” Vasile said. “And thank you for being willing to take such risk upon yourselves.”

  “We must all take such a risk or there won’t be any of us left to worry about,” Andora said. “Things are going to get worse before they get better.”

  Lilly felt a churning in her stomach as she leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. “Have the seers seen something?” She glanced at Cindy, though she didn’t ask the other woman out loud because she didn’t know if Cindy wanted others knowing about her ability. Cindy gave a small shake of her head.

  “Nothing specific,” the queen said. “Only the usual gloom and doom that comes when contending with complete psychopaths.”

  Vasile stood and turned to the high fae who had been quietly listening. “Would you please ask Peri to come? I know she has a lot going on in the fae realm and a home full of healers and wolves, but I believe she needs to be involved with this.”

  Nissa gave a tight nod and then flashed from the room. In a matter of minutes, she was back with Peri at her side.

  Peri glanced around the room, and her eyes widened a bit when they landed on the sprites. “They’ve managed to get you to leave your realm,” Peri said to the sprite queen. “So either you’ve suddenly become a glowing socialite or all hell is about to break loose.”

  Andora’s lips twitched ever so slightly. Lilly was intrigued by the high fae’s ability to get an emotional reaction out of the sprite queen, no matter how small. In the time Lilly had gotten to know Andora, she’d only seen the woman smile a handful of times. The sprite was a tad frigid, though not unkind.

  “It is good to see you, as well, Perizada,” the sprite queen said coolly. “It is a nice change to see the fae, too, interested in affairs other than their own.”

  “I can’t even fault you for that one,” Peri said with a sly smile. “We’ve been a tad self-centered in the past, I can own that. But our apathy has changed. The fae have an invested interested in the happenings of the human realm, and we will do what is necessary to protect it and its inhabitants.”

  Andora stood and the rest of those sitting followed. “That is very good to hear,” she said. “Likewise, the sprites will no longer be keeping to themselves. The Order cannot be allowed to have any lasting power. They need to be destroyed once and for all. We convene with the leaders of all supernatural races in a week’s time. The sprites will host a summit.”

  Peri’s eyes widened. “There hasn’t been a Summit in—”

  “Over five centuries,” Vasile finished for her. “Since before my time.”

  “It’s been five centuries too long,” Andora said. “If we’d been meeting on a regular basis and sharing information, maybe the Order wouldn’t have been able to rebuild their numbers.”

  Peri gave a sharp nod. “Agreed. It’s time the supernatural communities come together. Nissa and I will begin gathering them. We will see you in a week.”

  “You know the old tree portal to our realm?” the sprite queen asked Peri.

  Peri nodded.

  “I will have guards on both sides, human and sprite, seven days from today, to usher in our guests. Weapons will be allowed, though they will be set aside before the meeting begins.”

  “We will see you then.” Peri turned to Vasile and Alina. “It might be wise to begin evacuating your wolves, especially now that you have pups.” Before the alpha pair could respond, the fae turned to Nissa. “Once you’ve returned the sprites to their realm, meet me at my home., We need to begin recruiting immediately.” Before she flashed, Peri glanced at Lilly. “Please tell your daughter and her friends to refrain from doing anything stupid. I realize it will be a miracle if they listen, but I’m attempting to believe in the impossible these days.” Then she was gone.

  “I’d forgotten what a warm ball of sunshine she is,” Andora said dryly.

  “Cut her some slack,” Nissa said with a small smile. “She’s mated to a Canis lupus.”

  Lilly nearly
jumped when the sprite queen suddenly burst into laughter. She glanced over at Cypher who was smirking at the laughing queen.

  “I suppose I should go easy on her then,” Andora said as her laughter subsided. She looked at Vasile and Alina. “No offense, but any of us who have known Perizada of the fae for any amount of time realize how she feels about you wolves.”

  Alina smiled. “None taken. And yes, it is a kind of poetic justice to see her mated to one of our own.”

  Lilly noticed that Diedre and Aurora were both smiling as well. Apparently, they all knew Peri well enough to appreciate the irony. Nissa held out her arms for the four women. They each placed a hand on the high fae. Andora gave her a small smile. “We will see you soon, Lilly, queen of the warlocks.” Then she turned to Cypher for the first time since arriving. “Lilly is one of mine. If you hurt her, or let any harm come to her, I will let the mentalist scramble your brains, the luminous fry your body, and the elementals scatter your ashes to the four corners of the earth.” Nissa flashed them from the room before Lilly’s mate could respond.

  “Good talk,” he said to the empty space where they’d just been standing.

  Moments later, Nissa was back and ready to take Cypher and Lilly home. Lilly gave Alina a hug.

  “I will try and talk the girls out of coming,” Alina told her, obviously feeling the same worries as Lilly.

  Lilly snorted. “You’d have better luck getting water from a rock.”

  “Or blood from an orange,” Vasile added.

  “Or taming a shark,” Cypher said.

  Alina sighed. “I could convince Peri to bind them.”

  Vasile laughed. “Please do. It would be worth it just to see Jen’s response.”

  “Fane and Decebel would never forgive us,” Alina pointed out.

  Vasile shrugged. “It would still be worth it to see Jen unable to make good on any of her threats.”

  “Just promise me you’ll get pictures if Peri does it,” Lilly said as she placed her hand on Nissa and tucked herself close to Cypher.

  “I’ll frame it and give it to you as a Christmas present,” Alina promised.

  Lilly was laughing as Nissa flashed them from the Romanian mansion.

  When they were finally home and tucked away in their bed, Lilly let out a tired sigh. “Why does it feel like the calm before the storm?” she asked her mate.

  Cypher pulled her against his chest as he wrapped a large arm around her waist. “For the same reason that it feels like the world is going to fall off of its axis at any moment.”

  “That isn’t reassuring,” she told him dryly.

  “Wasn’t meant to be. Now go to sleep, female. I’m tired and more than likely I’m going to have to help save the world in a week. We need all the rest we can get.”

  “Love you, too, king of mine.”

  Cypher pressed his lips to the back of her neck. “I adore you. Now sleep.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Nothing in the world can prepare you for those two words: You’re pregnant. From one breath to the next, my life has been forever changed.” ~ Bethany

  * * *

  Drake sat Bethany down gently on their couch. Despite what he’d told Jen, he had no intention of bedding his mate at the moment. He’d just said that to keep the girls away. He and his mate needed to talk, without any outside interference from meddling packmates. Yet, now, the words seemed to be frozen in his throat, and his heart felt as though it was attempting to punch its way out of his chest. Pregnant. His mate was pregnant with their child. An hour ago he’d been worried about how he was going to make things right between them, and now he was worried he wouldn’t be a good father. He was obviously terrible at being a good mate, considering how well he’d royally screwed up for the past couple of months. How in the world was he going to take care of two of the most precious people in the world when he couldn’t even take care of one?

  “Are you going to say anything?” Bethany asked. She was looking up at him, her brow raised as her eyes scanned his face.

  He nodded. Say something fool, his wolf growled. His wolf had gotten good at the insults since Drake had been angering him over how things were going with Bethany. The beast was scared she was going to get fed up and leave them. We would follow her, his wolf rumbled in his mind. Yes, Drake responded, to the ends of the earth.

  “How are you feeling?” Drake asked, finally forcing his tongue to work.

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Unsure, I guess.”

  Drake felt alarm bells going off inside of him. If she leaves us, I will figure out a way to end you, human. Drake’s wolf snarled. She isn’t going to leave us. His wolf huffed and snorted at him.

  “What are you unsure of?” he asked, almost terrified of the answer. What if she wasn’t sure if she wanted to have a baby, his baby? What if she was unsure about their mating? Regardless of the fact it was already done, it didn’t mean she was happy about it. What if she didn’t know if she wanted this life at all? What if she wanted to go back to live with humans? The more the thoughts and questions piled on, the more worked up he could feel his wolf becoming. Drake had no doubt his eyes were glowing by the time she finally spoke.

  “Drake?” Bethany’s voice reached him through the fog of doubts that had begun to fill his mind. He turned to look at her, not realizing he was pacing. Way to inspire confidence in the mother of your child, Drake. Act like a lunatic.

  “I apologize,” he said and then moved to sit beside her on the couch. He wanted to touch her, needed to touch her, but he didn’t know if his touch would be welcome. “What are you unsure of, Bethy?” he asked again, forcing himself to ignore all his own worries and listen to hers.

  “How you feel about this?” she said, pointing to her stomach.

  “That’s all?” he asked, his brow drawn down low as he narrowed his eyes on her.

  “Um, isn’t that a big deal?”

  “Yes,” he said quickly. “Yes, of course it is. I’m sorry, love. My mind was working overtime when you said you were unsure of how you were feeling, and I was worried that you didn’t want this anymore.”

  “This?” she asked. “You mean us?” Bethany pointed back and forth between them.

  Drake nodded.

  She reached for his hand and intertwined their fingers. “Of course I want us. Why wouldn’t I want us?”

  Drake didn’t want to ask his next question, but it was one that had been whispering in the back of his mind and he couldn’t keep wondering. “Bethany, do you only want me because I was the first thing that came along after you were rescued by the vampires?”

  Her eyes narrowed on him, and her lips drew tight across her face.

  Maybe that wasn’t the smartest question I could have asked.

  “So you think I would have shacked up with just any male because I was so desperate to get away from those monsters? You think I would just jump into bed with the first willing Joe Blow because I was frightened of being taken by the vampires again? Seriously, Drake!”

  He took a deep breath and gave in to his need to touch her. He placed his hands on either side of her face and pressed his forehead to hers. “I’m sorry. That was a jackass thing to ask.”

  “Yes. It was.”

  “You aren’t the only one with insecurities, mate. You aren’t the only one who worries,” Drake admitted. “I’m so damn scared of losing you. I didn’t know I could love someone this much, need someone this much. I’m sorry.”

  “Well, you aren’t the only one with fears either, Drake. With everything that’s been going on, us fighting and you scared to be intimate with me, and now a baby, I’m just scared that you will think it’s too much, too fast.”

  He scooted closer to her until they were hip to hip and then dropped one hand from her face and laid it on her stomach, which he noticed did have a slight roundness to it. He might have noticed sooner if he’d allowed himself to be more intimate with her. He glanced up at Bethany and saw her eyes had dropped down to look at his han
d so he tapped her stomach and said, “Look at me, Bethany.”

  She raised her eyes until they met his.

  “We are never going to be prepared for this life. The Great Luna has blessed us with this amazing existence and given us lots of tools to make us successful, but the most amazing thing she’s given us is the ability to adapt. When life throws something at us that is unexpected, we adapt. Sometimes it’s something wondrous like a new baby, and sometimes it’s something horrific like being taken by vampires. But in all situations, horrible and wonderful, we grow and are changed, hopefully for the better.” Drake smiled at her as he reached up and wiped a tear from her face. “Was this unexpected? Yes. Was it fast? A little. Would I change it? Not for the world.”

  “Really?” she asked, sounding breathless.

  “Really,” he said, nodding. “I won’t lie and say I’m not terrified. But there is something stronger than my terror.”

  “What?”

  “My love for you and, now, my love for our child as well.”

  Bethany leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his lips. Her scent enveloped him, and Drake wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his lap. He wanted to keep her there, safe from anything and everything until their child was born. He was pretty sure that would not be perceived as a good thing by his mate.

  “We’re going to have a baby,” she whispered against his neck as she laid her head against his shoulder.

  “Yes, we are.” Drake felt his wolf let out a contented sigh. Try not to screw this up, human, his beast rumbled at him. I’ll do my best, Drake said, meaning it with every fiber of his being.

  * * *

  “I never thought I would have children,” Bethany said. “I’d just accepted that I would die at the hands of the vampires. I’d long ago given up any hope of ever having some semblance of a normal life. Then I was rescued and there was you, and I could suddenly breathe. And this”—she snuggled into him, loving the way his larger body sheltered hers—“this would be enough for me. But having your baby, it’s a dream, one I don’t want to wake up from.”