Luna Junction 2 Forbidden Mate (W) (10 page)

I wrapped a dark red blanket around my
body more firmly and tried to stand without inadvertently revealing
my assets to another member of the family Casteel. Abe watched my
struggle merrily and made no attempt to turn away until Gideon
began to shoulder him out.

“
I was just leaving
anyway,” he sputtered. “Lest those Landon boys come barreling out
here with their teeth bared, thinking I might be someone
else.”

Gideon frowned. “Have you seen
him?”

Abe grew somber. “Yes. He
is…displeased. And that dour little rag he mated with seems unable
to handle him.” He jerked his head toward me and nodded
approvingly. “I don’t think you’ll have that problem, Gid. I’d
wager a good sum that Goddess Artemis can handle you just
fine.”

Once Abe left for the Landon house,
intending to disturb whoever still remained asleep, I dressed
quickly as Gideon watched. “Love you,” he said.

“
You’d better.” I stood on
tiptoe and planted a quick kiss on his lips. “Love you
back.”

Abe stuck around only long enough to
hug his sister, tickle the baby and flippantly inform Tatum he
would be serving as her midwife. He’d always been very important to
Gideon, an unquestioned ally and a buffer between him and Michael.
I knew Gideon was relieved he had returned.

Just as I was idly wondering if any
other unexpected guests would descend upon us, my body tensed with
unmistakable warning. Werewolves approached. Gideon and the Landon
men appeared from all directions, as if they’d been loudly
summoned. I flinched at the sound of a low growl but Benji slapped
at his twin. “Showoff. You know it’s just the Ivanovs.”

Sure enough, three women walked slowly
out of the woods. I squinted, recognizing Kate Ivanov ahead of the
two redheads who looked like younger versions of herself. They were
all barefoot and even at a distance I could see they were somewhat
unkempt. They moved with the easy stealth of cats.

The Ivanovs were the Luna Junction
family who kept notoriously to themselves. I never knew the girls
very well as they only attended school sporadically and had a
simmering, unapproachable air about them. Yet the young woman on
Kate’s left smiled at me in a shy, friendly manner.

Kate kept her intense green eyes
trained on me as she approached. “Well,” she said finally, stopping
twenty feet away, “this is startling.” Her tone indicated she
thought it amusing as well.

Gideon nudged me behind him
protectively while Cade stepped between us and the Ivanovs. “Hey
Kate,” he said. I didn’t miss the wary note in his voice, as if he
didn’t completely trust this trio of red-haired sirens.

Kate sighed. “I had hoped one of my
girls might tempt the Casteel boy but apparently he found another
option.” Her voice grew louder. “Huntress, what are your
intentions?”

I swallowed and stepped from behind
Gideon. “I’m not your enemy,” I said.

The werewolf’s green eyes glittered.
“Well, you’re not really a friend either.”

Gideon’s hands rested on my shoulders.
“She is now,” he said firmly. “Whether you like it or
not.”

“
Whether you like it or
not,” I repeated.

Kate watched me for a moment, then
burst into laughter. “Spirited little thing. I watched you, you
know. When you were a child and didn’t know I was watching.” Her
voice lowered. “You could never be like them.”

I thought at first she meant I could
never have been like the other children of Luna Junction. Then her
mouth turned up in a dry smile and I realized she meant something
else. That I could never be like the hunters; lurking, observing,
threatening. All in the name of some lofty notion that they were
sacred guardians.

Cade relaxed and held out his arm to
the Ivanov matriarch. “Can I offer you some breakfast,
ladies?”

Kate walked right past him and headed
for the house. “Normally I’m not up for flesh this early but if
you’re offering a pound or two of Bellini’s best cows, then I can’t
refuse.”

“
Of course,” said Cade,
grinning at us and putting his arm around Tatum as they headed
inside.

One of the Ivanov girls silently
followed her mother, not so much as glancing at me or Gideon. But
the other, the one who had briefly smiled my way, hung back. “You
don’t remember me,” she said.

“
I do,” I replied. There
were a number of Ivanov kids but she had been only a year younger
and Luna Junction was pretty small. “Tess, right?”

She seemed pleased. “Yes.” She paused.
“You’ll have to forgive Amelia. She’s always been terrified of
pissing Mama off.”

In the background Zane gave a little
whoop and threw a football right at Tess Ivanov. She caught it
expertly but looked annoyed.

“
Coming back to school in
September?” Zane asked.

Her face dropped. “No,” she said,
tossing the football back. “I should have graduated this month,”
she explained to me.

I shrugged. “Hey, no judging here. I
didn’t exactly make it to my own graduation.”

Tess frowned and played with the ends
of her fiery hair. “Mama always said the human school isn’t worth
shit, that it won’t make us strong. She only ever let us go when
the state came around and complained.” She sighed and started to
walk toward the house. “Anyhow, welcome back. You’re bound to make
things interesting.” She turned and looked at me curiously. “I’ll
see you again?”

“
I hope so.”

Tess smiled and disappeared into the
Landon house. Gideon squeezed my shoulder. “They’re wild,” he
said.

“
What do you mean
wild?”

“
I mean they bay at the
moon every night of the year, sleep naked in the woods and like to
rip out Bambi’s throat because they still have a taste for
blood.”

“
Oh,” I
shuddered.

He laughed. “Don’t worry, the Ivanovs
are harmless.”

I arched an eyebrow at him. “I’m
starting to wonder about your definition of harmless.”

He pressed against me, his voice thick.
“I can show you some harm.”

I gaped up at him. “Is that all you
think about?”

“
Why not? Isn’t it all you
think about?”

I considered. “You’re right.” I slapped
his backside. “To the barn, wolf boy.”

Gideon swept me into his arms and I
clutched at his neck, reaching in to peck at the skin underneath
his jaw. Anyone who saw us would realize what we were headed for
but I didn’t care. I began to suspect that no matter how many times
we had each other it wouldn’t be enough.

“
Gideon!” I shouted
suddenly, but he already knew. He swung me down and pushed me
behind him as a low growl rose from his throat. The barn door
opened and standing there, gazing at us inscrutably, was the
sheriff of Luna Junction.

“
Acie, run!” yelled Gideon
before he shifted into the wolf.

“
Don’t,” whispered Michael,
training his gun on me.

Gideon crouched low, ready to spring
for his brother’s throat. Michael scowled at him. “Stop it, junior.
I only want to talk to you.”

I desperately wished for a bow. “Then
put down your gun,” I said.

Michael studied me. “All right, you’re
unarmed.” He holstered his weapon.

Gideon’s clothes had torn irreparably
when he changed shape but he was unconcerned. “What do you want?”
he said icily, once again standing tall beside me on two
legs.

Michael’s smile was rueful. “Don’t you
give me the benefit of the doubt at all? I’ve taken care of you all
these years.”

I spoke up. “And what should I make of
our last encounter, Michael?”

He glanced at me with annoyance. “That?
I thought it better for everyone if you were scared off quickly.
Trust me, if I’d wanted you dead then you would be.”

Gideon stepped in front of me. “You
stay away from her.” His hands were clenched in fists. I read the
tension in his shoulders. He was ready to return to wolf form in a
second if need be.

Michael Casteel stared at his younger
brother, who happened to stand a good five inches taller. “Gideon,”
he shook his head. “What am I supposed to do about
this?”

“
Nothing,” Gideon spat. “We
can easily leave. There are other places.” He took my hand. “Other
towns, even urban colonies.”

“
Yes,” Michael’s look was
mean. “And then someday perhaps your children can hunt my
children.” He took a deep breath and crossed his arms. “Fuck, I
didn’t mean to say that. Artemis,” said Michael evenly. “Understand
something. I don’t hate you. I just love my brother.”

I thought about the things Gideon had
told me about Michael. The beatings, the threats. I felt justified
in correcting him. “I’ve seen that kind of love before, sheriff.
It’s cruel. Ruinous and cruel.”

That took Michael back a step. He
stared at us quietly, then slowly shook his head again. “Don’t
leave,” he said. “You need to stay close.”

“
Why?” I asked. “Whatever
it is you know, my father also knows. He gave us a similar warning.
Care to summarize?”

Michael straightened the cheap tin star
he wore pinned to his chest. It seemed to be an amusement to him, a
joke at the expense of human world authority. He smiled at me. “The
devils are multiplying, huntress. And they’re coming for you too.”
He moved past us fluidly and began sauntering idly toward the
house, breathing deeply and talking to himself. “Is that raw meat I
smell?”

When he was out of earshot I leaned
against Gideon, grateful for the hard strength of his chest. “What
did The Riddler mean?” I asked.

Gideon snorted. “Who the hell knows?”
But he glanced in a troubled way towards the woods and I recalled
his early morning sleeplessness.

I swallowed. “We should go back to the
house.”

Gideon ran his fingers through my hair
and then took a firm hold of my chin so that he could look deeply
into my eyes. “I would die to protect you, Artemis.”

“
No,” I said. “Because I
can’t be without you.”

He kissed me sweetly on the
forehead and led me back to the Landon house as I clung to his
side, shivering under the warm sun.
They’re coming for you.
The part of
me containing the strange vestigial instincts which identified
disguised werewolves recognized the truth in Michael’s words. The
devils were coming indeed.

Chapter Ten

Zane tapped me on the shoulder as I set
the dining table for an early dinner. “Full moon tonight,” he
grinned. “The gloves come off and the wolves come out.”

The Ivanovs had left hours earlier but
Michael hung around, talking quietly with Cade and periodically
wandering over to the dirt road which led towards town. He would
stand there in stony thought for a period of time and retreat with
a worried expression which frightened me more than any portentous
utterings. Michael Casteel was afraid. I had not thought it
possible.

Gideon came inside several times to
check on me. I begged him to tell me what was wrong. “Acie, I don’t
really know,” he said honestly. Then he would return outside to
brood with the men while I waited with Tatum and Claire and the
baby. The girls cooed at Peyton while I stared at my own hands.
They’d always been strong. Teachers had once encouraged me to do
something meaningful, like piano or equestrian jumping. But as I
clenched and unclenched my deft fingers I knew they had been bred
for something else. I had no teeth or claws lurking under the
surface of my skin. Without a bow I was virtually useless. With it,
I was deadly. It was the only way I could defend myself and those I
loved.

My reverie broke when I realized Claire
was urgently calling my name. She stood by the front window, her
face white. “Acie,” she said again. “Your father is
here.”

For a moment I stared stupidly at the
spectacle of Max’s shabby orange pickup truck pulling up to the
Landon front door. They all lined up to meet him; Cade, Matthew,
Benji and Zane. Directly in front of them, tensely waiting as a
united pair, stood Gideon and Michael.

Max stepped from the vehicle slowly,
his arms raised. I could hear Michael’s growl from the other side
of the plate glass window and I came to life, bursting through the
door intending to stand between the hunter and the
wolves.

But Gideon had already stilled Michael
with a warning hand on his arm. The brothers watched silently as
Max slowly removed a pair of bows and a bundle of silver-pointed
arrows from the bed of the pickup truck. He held one out to me.
“Artemis.”

I stared at the weapon. I wanted it.
But those silver-tipped arrows meant something more than
self-defense. They were designed to pierce the tough flesh of
werewolves and still the heart. I did not take it. “Why?” I
asked.

Max lowered the bow, looking grimly at
the edgy pack of werewolves. “It isn’t what you think.” He gazed
directly at Gideon. “I’ll have to learn to make peace with this,
and not just for my daughter’s sake. Bad days are coming.” He
grimaced. “The Western Council is here and I’m not sure
why.”