Moon Thrall (9 page)

The Djinn. Court should’ve realized that sooner. The Djinn liked to keep themselves secret. They only showed themselves to their victims. Unless you were in the supernatural world, no one even knew the Djinn were real. And they certainly weren’t like I Dream of Jeannie.

They were pure evil, wicked to the extreme. They were malicious and cruel beyond words. They also loved to mess with humans to drive them mad and then torment them endlessly.

Skye had written an article on the Djinn recently. She described them to perfection, which meant she had seen one. That Djinn would want revenge.

But the Djinn hated vampires. They would never lower themselves to align with them.

Court realized he hadn’t answered Jacques. “Yes, I know what Skye does for a living. Tourists come to this city to see the supernatural.”

“Ah, but she’s putting out the truth,” Anton said. “We can’t let that keep happening.”

“So you want to kill her?”

Jacques laughed. “We never said we wanted to kill her.”

Court felt sick to his stomach. It was just as he’d imagined. They wanted to turn her, to make her one of them.

“If she’s one of us, she won’t be writing any more articles,” Anton stated.

Court saw two vampires slowly closing in on Skye from opposite ends of the bar. He tried to go to her, but Jacques put his hand on Court’s shoulder.

“It’ll be done quickly,” the vampire said.

Court jerked away from Jacques. “What you two are doing here gives me the right to kill you on the spot.”

“You have no proof,” Anton said.

Jacques rubbed his hands together. “But there was no way we wouldn’t show up once we learned she was returning.”

Court’s vision turned red with rage. He shoved Jacques against the wall. “You’re dead, vampire.”

“Good luck with that,” Jacques said and jerked his chin toward the bar.

Court’s head swiveled toward Skye to see the two vampires nearly upon her. He could kill Jacques and Anton and hope that his brothers helped Skye, or he could go after Skye and find the vamps later.

He chose the latter option.

Court released Jacques and ran to Skye. Vampires came out of nowhere to block his path, shoving him and hitting him. His head was slammed into a table, and Court looked up through the blood dripping down his forehead and into his eyes.

Skye was looking at him wide-eyed with terror. Then she pulled the dagger out of her pocket and slashed at the vampire nearest her.

Court smiled when he heard the vampire scream in pain over the music. He fought against his attackers, his gaze constantly seeking Skye. One moment she was there, and the next she was fighting the vampires amid toppled tables and chairs.

He was glad he had given Skye the weapon. It wouldn’t do much damage, but it was enough to keep the vampires at bay until he got to her.

Court could no longer hold back his wolf. He shifted, shredding his clothes on a loud growl. With jaws snapping, he took bites out of several vampires, including Jacques before he broke free.

Court leapt atop a table and launched himself through the air to land on a vampire who had lunged at Skye. He latched onto the vampire’s neck and clamped down hard, his teeth going through skin and muscle.

The vamp screamed and spun around, trying to dislodge Court. It wasn’t until the door to the club was thrown open and his brothers walked in that Court released the vampire and landed beside Skye.

~

Skye was startled beyond words when she saw Court change into a werewolf. First his eyes glowed an inhuman yellow, then a ferocious growl sounded from him. His bones popped out of joint and fur sprouted along his skin as his clothes were ripped and fell to the floor.

It all happened in a matter of seconds, but it was burned into her memory for all eternity. She was so absorbed with watching Court that she forgot about her two attackers. They got too close. One tried to knock the knife from her hand, but she refused to be that weak.

She fought against them, ducking and spinning to stay out of their reach. They were fast though, super fast. Many times they guessed what she would do and were there before she twisted away.

Adrenaline kept her going, but she knew she wouldn’t last long at this rate. And then Court was there, his teeth around the neck of a vampire.

Blood poured down the front of the vamp as Court clamped down harder. Skye slashed the vampire on her left and ducked when he tried to grab her.

The next thing she knew, Court was standing beside her. Her fingers itched to touch his tawny fur. He looked up at her with his yellow eyes, silently asking if she were all right.

She nodded, amazed at how huge he was. Court was easily twice the size of a normal wolf. He stood almost as tall as her chest, all danger and fury to anyone who looked her way.

The fighting had stopped in the club, but the music still played. Skye inched closer to Court as she looked up and saw Solomon, Myles, and Kane standing at the door.

By the way their eyes flashed yellow, they too were ready to shift and take on some vampires.

Court put his head under her hand and took a step. Skye understood. She walked with him to the door as his lips peeled back to show his sharp teeth and he issued a low, rumbling growl to the vampires.

As soon as Skye was out of the club, Solomon wrapped an arm around her. “You’re all right now.”

“They knew I would be there,” she said.

Solomon didn’t stop walking. He hurried her away from the Viper’s Nest with Myles on her other side. Kane was behind them, and Court loped ahead.

“They didn’t get you,” Myles said. “Focus on that.”

Skye looked down at her hand that still held the knife. It was because of Court. He had been there, but the vampires prevented him from getting to her. If she hadn’t had the knife, they would have gotten her.

By the time Gator Bait came into view, Court veered off to the left with Kane following him. Solomon and Myles ushered her around the back of the bar and through the kitchen to Myles’s office. Addison and Riley were already there.

“She’s in shock,” Addison told Myles.

Riley put a glass in Skye’s hand. “Drink this. All of it. Now.”

Skye didn’t look at what was inside. She tossed back the contents and swallowed. Then she spent the next few moments coughing as the bourbon burned its way down her throat.

“Now look at me,” Riley said as she leaned over to look into Skye’s face. “How do you feel?”

Images of the hissing vampires hitting Court with their fangs out flashed in her mind.

“Skye?”

She blinked as she recognized Court’s voice. He was kneeling in front of her. As she looked into his face, she’d never felt so relieved in her life. She threw her arms around his neck and held him.

His arms enfolded her in a fierce hug. “It’s all right. You did good.”

“They knew I would be there,” she repeated.

Court leaned back and cupped his hands around her face. “I know.”

“I’ll clean the blade,” Kane said and tried to take the knife from her.

Skye pulled her hand away, daring him to reach for it again.

Kane smiled. “I’ll return it to you.”

The night had gotten to her in ways she hadn’t known were possible. She knew a few basic moves to fend off an attacker that she’d learned through a website, but she had never been tested like she was tonight.

She breathed through her mouth as she grew nauseous. Skye handed the knife to Kane.

“She’s losing color,” Riley said.

Skye was soon wrapped in a blanket. She didn’t understand why until she started to shiver. That’s when she recognized that Riley was right. She was in shock. She knew because she’d experienced it one other time in her life.

Court adjusted the blanket and gave her a comforting smile.

How could he do that after what had happened? How could he pretend that someone hadn’t betrayed him?

“Who else knew we would be there?” she asked.

Court sighed. “An old friend.”

Court was livid. The anger was boiling over, souring his stomach like acid. Of all the people who might betray him, he’d never counted Scott as one of them.

Now he knew the truth.

Skye’s dark gaze watched him with confusion and worry. He hated that she was more anxious than when she’d left the bar earlier. Tonight was supposed to make her safe from the vamps once and for all. At least that’s what he had hoped for.

“Scott,” Myles said with clenched teeth.

Court rubbed Skye’s arms through the blanket. He didn’t want to talk about it in front of her. She was still in shock. And he was still getting over seeing her surrounded by vampires.

He didn’t like the helpless feeling he’d had when the vampires had prevented him from getting to Skye. In all the times he’d shifted, not once had he felt so...savage.

Skye lowered her gaze. Was she scared of him now? Was the shock wearing off as she remembered what she had seen him do? Court dropped his arms and stood, staring at the top of her dark head.

He prayed she wasn’t afraid of him. Skye was brave and courageous. If she feared him...

Court refused to finish the thought. He raised his gaze to find his brothers, Addison, and Riley staring at him. It suddenly felt as if he were a lab rat being studied.

“What happened in there?” Riley asked. “As soon as you sent the text, Addison and I came back here.”

Court ran a hand through his hair. He was wired after shifting and battling the vampires. It didn’t help that he craved the feel of Skye’s body like his wolf yearned to run.

He leaned back against Myles’s desk. “Jacques and Anton came up on either side of me. I assumed they wanted to give me shit about the previous night, but they were too interested in Skye. I knew every vamp in there was focused on her, but I didn’t realize how much until it was too late.”

Court closed his eyes as he recalled the fear that had spiked through him when he saw the vampires closing in on Skye. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. “I saw them moving towards Skye, and I tried to get to her.”

“But they stopped him,” Skye said with a little tremor in her voice.

Court shifted his gaze to her. She was no longer hunched over, but rather sitting straight in the chair. Beautiful and brave.

Her eyes lifted to look at the others. “They were beating him, kicking him. I had no time to get out with the vampires blocking my way. Then they were on me.”

“I shifted,” Court said, picking up where Skye left off. “And began attacking. Skye fended off the vampires with the knife until I could get to her. That’s when y’all came in.”

Kane snorted. “This could’ve gone very badly.”

“Operative word is could’ve,” Solomon said. “It didn’t.”

Myles grabbed Addison’s hand. “How desperately do they want Skye, Court?”

“They’ll continue to come after her.”

Myles’s lips thinned. “That’s what I thought. Skye, you realize you can’t go home, right?”

“I do,” Skye said and lifted her chin.

Solomon crossed his arms over his chest. “Court’s place is out. It’s the second stop they’ll make after Skye’s since he was with her inside the club. That leaves Kane’s apartment or my house.”

“The LaRue house.” Riley shrugged when Kane looked at her. “I’m thinking how tiny your apartment is. There is plenty of room at Solomon’s. Besides, it’s outside the city so we can keep the battle from overflowing into the streets.”

Myles winked at her. “I agree with Riley.”

“Then we need to get to my place,” Solomon said.

Court glanced at the clock on the wall. “They’ll be watching the bar. Getting Skye out is going to be difficult.”

“Not too difficult,” Kane said as he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

Skye looked from Kane to Court. “Who is he calling?”

“More weres.” He watched her carefully to see how she would react to that news.

“Oh,” she mumbled.

Other than that one word, she didn’t so much as twitch a muscle. Perhaps she wasn’t as afraid as he thought. Then again, she had never seen him shift before. For those unaccustomed to such things, it could be very frightening.

A moment later, Kane ended the call and nodded. “Griffin and the Moonstone pack will be here shortly.”

“Marcus can lock up the bar,” Myles said.

Kane looked at Riley. “You stay beside me. If the vampires can’t get Skye, they’ll take anyone they can get.”

“That goes for you, too,” Myles said to Addison.

Skye shifted nervously in her chair, drawing Court’s attention. Getting her out of the city and to the house he grew up in was going to be dangerous. But so was staying at the bar.

The LaRues were generally left alone, but the vampires wanted Skye because of her articles. It was time to remind the vampires – and all the factions – who the LaRues were.

Court pushed away from the desk and walked out of the office. He wanted to confront Scott, but it would only end with his jaws around the detective’s throat. He wouldn’t be able to control his anger. The last thing the LaRues needed was the police at their door because one of their own was dead.