An Unlucky Moon (19 page)

She
was
weaker than Jace.

“I’m the Mediator. Watch your tone, old man. Your Pack is crumbling, and you need to do something about it. You all are fighting among yourselves so much that the blood of your weaker wolves is on your hands. What would happen if another den were to attack now? Would you be strong enough to fight them off? No. I don’t think so. You’re letting your pride fester into something tainted. I won’t take the case yet because I want to see if you guys can handle it on your own without bloodshed. Now grow the fuck up and learn to run a Pack or I’ll deal with them for you.”

Becca blinked. Okay, so the Mediator wasn’t some soothing, sweet-talking man but a bear who came in, could rough them up, and take care of things on his own.

Good to know.

“I’ll be back soon to see what you’ve all decided but, for now, fix this shit.”

With that, the bear stalked away, and Becca blinked. Hunter pulled her closer into his arms again despite his wounds and carried her out the chambers without another word. Liam and Alec followed behind with Josiah between them.

“What’s going on?” Becca whispered, fear clawing at her.

“We have a few days, and then Jace will come in and decide for us who shall live or die.”

“He can do that?” Gods, that was a lot of power and responsibility to put on someone’s shoulders, as broad as they were.

“Yes, and he’ll have to if we don’t figure out a way to break the council. If everyone wants to live, the easiest way would be to disband it, but it’s hard to go against tradition. It’s even harder to do so when other Pack members seem to follow the three jackasses.” He walked them into their home and closed the door. She assumed the others had gone home as well.

“You’re going to break the council?”

Hunter nodded. “We’re in a different time than we were when it was formed. It’s not needed now and, really, is only a bunch of talking heads. We’d work better as an Alpha and Beta pair with enforcers, not a council.”

She cupped his face, ignoring her aches and pains.

“How are you going to do that?”

He kissed her palm. “I don’t know, baby, but we’re running out of time to figure it out.”

A shiver ran down her spine, and she nodded. If they didn’t find a way to take down the unruly wolves, there would be nowhere to hide from a bear on a mission.

Of that, she was sure.

****

Jace Goodwin took a deep breath and closed his eyes, letting the human realm wash over him. Gods, he’d missed this place. He missed the hustle and bustle of humans and their problems. He loved the fact that he would never be called in to Mediate them; he only watched them from afar.

What he really missed, though, was the building he stood in front of. More importantly, he missed the
man
inside that building. He could already scent him, that spiciness mixed with dark chocolate and a hint of danger.

Gods, he’d missed that dragon.

He stepped through the front door and sighed with relief at the empty room. It would just be Dante and him, thank the gods. 

It had been too long, and his bear needed his dragon.

Another scent, something far more delicate and sweet, brushed against him, and he froze. The scent faded away as quickly as it had come, and he frowned.

What was that?

Who
was that?

“Where the fuck have you been?”

Jace smiled as Dante walked into the room from the back. That black with blue streaked hair of his had grown since Jace had last seen the man. His eyebrow piercing glinted in the overhead light, forcing Jace to remember exactly how many piercings the other man had and how much Jace had wanted to touch them all…but had never been allowed to.

“Is that any way to greet me?” Jace crooned.

“You were gone for years, man. Years. I tried to get a hold of you. Where the fuck were you?” Dante crossed his arms over his chest, a small tendril of smoke coming from his nostril.

Well, hell, the dragon was well and truly pissed. Not that Jace blamed him. He
had
been gone for far longer than he’d anticipated.

“I was stuck in the bird of prey area,” Jace answered. “It took three years just to get through Mediations.”

Though Jace had washed the blood from his hands, he wasn’t sure he’d ever get the images of exactly what had gone on there out of his head.

Dante’s posture relaxed slightly, but he didn’t move closer. Jace didn’t move either, unsure of his welcome. He hated feeling as though he was out of his depth, but that always came when he was near his dragon.

“I found her,” Dante whispered, and Jace sucked in a breath.

“Who…where…her?” 

Dante grinned then walked toward him. Jace held still waiting to see what the other man did. At six foot eleven, there were only a few people around his height, and Dante, though three inches shorter, was one of them. Jace never felt quite so big and awkward around him.

Most days.

Dante cupped Jace’s cheek, and Jace leaned into the touch. “I found her.”

Jace swallowed hard. “What’s she like?”

“You’ll love her.” 

Oh, Jace had no doubt about that. 

Dante frowned. “Why do you smell like wolves? And Becca and Hunter? What’s going on?”

Jace blinked then cursed, moving back. “Fuck. I’m Meditating, or at least will be, for the Nocturne Pack. You know Becca and Hunter?”

Dante narrowed his eyes. “Becca is one of my best friends, and Hunter is her mate. Do I need to get her out of there for her safety? I’ve been letting her stay there to get familiar with her future, but I’ll get her away if I need to.”

Irrational jealousy at Dante’s words filled Jace, but he shook them off. “I don’t know what exactly is going on there, but I’ll fix it. It’s my job.” One that on most days, he loathed. “That means, though, I can’t put you and her in danger right now. As soon as I fix this, I can come back though. Come back and stay.”

Something flickered over Dante’s face before he blanked his expression. “We won’t be waiting forever, Jace. You need to come home. Protect Becca and Hunter then come home.”

He didn’t have all the facts concerning the Nocturne Pack so he couldn’t quite promise to protect Dante’s friends. He wanted to do anything for this man, but he wasn’t sure.

Jace nodded then ran a hand through Dante’s long hair, unable to stop himself.

“I’ll come back. I promise.”

“Don’t take years this time, Jace. Nadie doesn’t have that kind of time.”

Nadie.

He liked that name.

“I’ll deal with this fast. I promise.”

Pulling away so he didn’t kiss the man and make a fool of himself by coming in his jeans, he walked out the bar, hope filling him even as a slight edge of annoyance fought against it. He needed to get through this Mediation, and then he could have his future.

Finally.

Chapter Fourteen

“Oh, hell, you have got to be kidding me,” Becca mumbled to the little stick in her hand. The thing seemed to yell at her and curse her for her carelessness. Okay fine, it didn’t yell but stared back with an oddly loud silence, but whatever.

The two pink lines mocked her, telling her that she should have used a condom. Should have used more thought, rather than wanting to feel Hunter buried between her legs, filling her up with his cum.

It wasn’t as if, at the time, she’d forgotten how babies were made. After all, she’d been on top of Hunter with his cock firmly in her pussy at the time, so she
knew
. It wasn’t as if she didn’t want babies with her mate; it was more because of the whole danger thing.

The whole Pack-is-out-to-get-them thing.

She couldn’t have chosen a worse time to be pregnant.

Becca swallowed hard at that word.

She couldn’t be pregnant.

The lines mocked her again.

Fine. She
could
, but why did she have to be so damn fertile? It must be Hunter and that sperm of his. They must be like super sperm and on wolf steroids or something.

Oh gods. She was going to give birth to puppies.

She didn’t even know how to take care of a real puppy, let alone a baby wolf.

Or would it be a leprechaun? Hell. She didn’t know any of this. She didn’t know what genes would win out or even if one would to begin with. For all she knew, none of the paranormal genes would win and she’d end up with a human baby. The whole idea that humans came about in the first place because different species, like wolves and leprechauns, kept procreating until finally there wasn’t more than a small smidge of supernatural DNA left.

She didn’t even know how to teleport yet. Sure, she’d learned to heal other people slightly, but Hunter hadn’t let her do much more than a cut or scrape, afraid she’d pass out like she had before. She really was a waste of a leprechaun.

She wasn’t even lucky in the slightest.

Images of Hunter holding a little pink-blanket-wrapped bundle filled her mind.

Tears spilled down her cheeks, and she sniffed. Okay, that would be lucky. Her sexy mate holding a little baby girl…or boy…and being all overprotective.

That she could get on board with.

She wasn’t sure that could happen though. Not with the danger at the fringes of every aspect of her life. The council hadn’t backed down truly, but at least it was quiet for the moment. It was as if they were as scared of what Jace might be forced to do as she and Hunter were. Jason and the other leprechauns hadn’t come for her, but she had a feeling if they knew she was pregnant, things wouldn’t be pretty.

Gods, she needed to talk to someone. As much as she loved Leslie, she wanted her old friends. It had been ages since she’d talked to any of them, and she felt adrift. She shouldn’t have isolated herself. She couldn’t even blame Hunter for it ether. Countless times he had told her he’d take her to the human realm and stay there as long as she needed, but she had sworn she’d be okay learning the Pack.

What she’d really done was hide from her past and try to immerse herself in a future she was so sure she might lose.

Gods. Why hadn’t she seen that before? She’d been so sure she’d lose everything like she had when she was a kid that she’d refused to let Hunter go. But, in doing that, she’d let her friends go.

Well, fuck that.

She needed the girls to talk to.

Becca stood on shaky legs and placed her palm on her stomach. She was only a month along or so, not far at all, but there was a life growing inside her. A part of her and Hunter.

She was so fucking scared.

The need to get out of the den and go back to where she’d come from clawed at her. It wasn’t as if she wanted to be gone forever, but she needed a moment or two away from all the dangers and fears clutching at her so she could figure out how she really felt about a baby.

Right now her mind seemed to be going around in circles, which wasn’t helping anything.

Quickly, before she could change her mind, she put on boots and put her hair in a ponytail. She just needed to breathe. She put the positive test in her purse so she could keep it close then walked out to the living room where Hunter was reading through old texts. He’d been trying to find a peaceful way to get rid of the council, and she knew he was coming up empty.

“I need to leave.”

Hunter’s head shot up. “What?”

“I have to go. I can’t stay here anymore.”

Shock, then sadness, spread over his face before he slowly stood up and stalked toward her. “You said you’d never leave me. I told you I wouldn’t let you go.”

Despite the fact she knew she didn’t want to leave forever, everything that had happened over the past few months just spewed over her. “I need to go. Now. Just let me see my friends. You can’t keep me here, Hunter.” Gods. What the hell was wrong with her? She
knew
he hadn’t forced her to stay here, but right now, at this moment, she needed air.

He raked a hand through his hair. “I never said you had to stay here, Becca. You could have gone and seen your friends whenever you wanted. Why are you acting like this now?”

“Are you saying I can’t go?”

“No, baby, you can go. I’ll take you now to see your friends, but tell me you’re coming back with me.”

At the word baby, she flinched. Hunter caught the flinch, his face turning to stone. He bend forward so the only thing she could see was his gaze. “I’m never letting you go, Becca. You’re mine as much as I am yours. I will take you to see Faith and the others, but I’m bringing you back to where you belong. By my side. Then we can figure out a way to live in both places. I promise.”

She didn’t say anything, unable to voice what was going on in her head. Yes. She wanted to be by his side, but in doing that, it was too much. She just needed a break from the danger, and she needed her friends.

Becca swallowed hard, and Hunter searched her face before stalking toward the door. “Let’s go.”

She followed, knowing she’d done something she might not be able to fix. Her head hurt too much to figure it out but she would.

She had to.

The portal opened near Faith’s house, and they stopped in her backyard. Hunter pulled her into his arms and kissed her. Hard.

“You’re mine, Becca. I’ll never keep you in a cage, but don’t run from me. I’m staying in this realm. I have my phone. Call me when you want to go home.”

Home. 

Yes, the den was her home. She just needed to be in a place that wasn’t constantly trying to kill her.

“Becca?” Faith called out from her porch. Hunter waved to the other woman than stalked away, going who knows where, leaving Becca clutching her purse. Nadie running out from behind Faith.

“What’s wrong?” Nadie asked as she hugged her close. 

“I’m pregnant,” Becca blurted out then started to sob.

“I’ll kill him,” Faith said later as she set a pot of tea on the coffee table. “I’d have brought out the tequila, but since you’re knocked up, that didn’t seem like the best thing to do.”

As soon as Becca had blurted out her condition, Nadie had pulled her into Faith’s house and onto the couch, holding her close. Faith had mumbled something about stupid pricks and condoms then went to get the tea.