Beneath a Blood Moon (78 page)

“All present and accounted for, Daddy. I have a question for you.”

“Listen, Lisa, can it wait? We have a bit of a situation here.”

Lisa winked at me. “I suppose. What’s going on?”

“Someone grabbed Richard and Sanders, and I’d bet my entire fortune it was Sara’s father. Seattle’s pack just lost fifteen wolves all at once.” Desmond growled, long and low. “All I can tell is that Sanders is still alive. Is Richard…?”

The worry in Desmond’s voice made Lisa smile. “You really like them both, don’t you?”

“What sort of stupid question is that? Of course I like them both,” Desmond snapped. “All of you are all right? Has anything strange happened? Anyone following you? Where are you? What have you been doing?”

“We’re fine. We’re just busy hiding the bodies, cleaning up the wreckage, and figuring out where to hide the vehicle we stole for our road trip. You know, the usual.” Lisa sat beside Richard and used him as a backrest. “I’m pretty sure no one is following us. As for strange things happening, no, I can’t say anything strange has happened. You said someone grabbed Richard and Sanders?”

“Considering the fact your mother is with you, you didn’t obviously steal a car, there aren’t any bodies for you to hide, and I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything about any wreckage since your sister is with you,” Desmond replied, grumbling. “We were ambushed at the house. They killed four Inquisitors standing guard and hit us when we arrived.”

“Are you okay? Is Alex with you?”

“We’re fine as can be expected considering we’re both under heavy guard.” Desmond snorted. “I need you to hunt for Richard and Sanders. The Shadow Pope isn’t letting either one of us leave his cruddy outpost for fear we might be grabbed, too.”

“Let me talk to Alex,” Lisa replied.

“I’ll get him and put you on speaker.”

Muting the phone, Lisa said, “This is way too much fun. Mom, come sit with us. Dad’ll want to hear your voice, and I’m sure it’ll make Alex feel better, too.”

Wendy obeyed, and like her daughter, she leaned against Richard. “You’re terrible, Lisa. Don’t string them along for too long.”

“Not for too long,” she promised.

“Okay, Lisa. Alex is here.”

“Hey, baby,” Lisa said, her pleasure sweetening her scent. “Can’t you stay out of trouble?”

“I try, but people keep messing up my good efforts,” Lisa’s mate replied. “I can hardly feel a thing from Richard, Lisa. All I know is that he’s alive.”

“Hello, Charles,” Wendy said, smiling while staring at the phone. “I stole a car.”

“Wait, Lisa was serious? You stole a car?” Desmond blurted. “Why? Are there actually bodies? What wreckage?”

With laughter in her voice, Wendy replied, “I liked it. I wanted it, so I took it.”

“Please don’t get arrested. Please. Are you okay? What about the bodies? What wreckage?”

“We’re fine. I’m afraid your eldest daughter is responsible for another crash,” Wendy murmured.

Desmond sighed. “That explains the wreckage. What did she crash this time?”

“I did not crash it!” Nicolina burst out, stomping over from the door. “Stop filling his head with lies, Mom. I’m done, by the way. Oh, pile up.” Groaning, she found a spot near her mate, rested her head on his leg, and closed her eyes, going completely limp within moments of lying down.

“And she’s out like a light,” Lisa commented. “Amber? You okay?”

“I’m not going to say no to a nap,” the witch replied.

“What is going on over there?”

“Sleep over party,” Wendy replied. “Our eldest daughter was showing off. Amber helped.”

Amber yawned, sprawling on the concrete to use me as a pillow. “Good night.”

“Where are you?” Desmond demanded. “What did Nicolina crash?”

“A plane,” Lisa reported. “It was pretty spectacular.”

“A plane. You weren’t on it, were you?” Worry deepened Desmond’s voice. “No one was hurt?”

“Does dead count as hurt?” Lisa made a thoughtful noise. “I’m pleased to report everyone on board died a terrible, fiery death.”

Silence answered Lisa’s declaration.

“I ruptured my eardrums,” I whined. “It hurts, and people sound funny right now.”

Lisa chuckled. “You sure did. I’m impressed, actually. You didn’t even scream.
I
would have screamed. How do I know? I’ve done it before—and I screamed. Cried like a little baby, I tell you.”

Panic laced Alex’s voice. “You
what
? How? Lisa? What have you been doing?”

“We’ve been very, very bad girls, Alex,” Lisa murmured. “You should spank me.”

“Lisa!”

“What? You should. I’ve been a very, very bad girl.” Lisa giggled.

“Wendy, what is wrong with our daughter?” Desmond demanded.

“Which one?”

Desmond groaned. “Please, Wendy. Don’t do this right now.”

I frowned, staring at Wendy. “I thought you said he was going to yell. He’s not yelling at all.”

“He’s too drugged up to yell,” Alex reported. “That, plus he’s been ordered to stay calm. They got tired of him yelling, so they told him to keep calm or keep quiet.”

“You, too?” Lisa demanded.

“Maybe a little. Come home. I’ll spank you all you want.” Alex sounded so hopeful I giggled.

“You’re adorable, Alex,” his mate replied, grinning.

“Wolfsbane.” Wendy paced and snarled a curse under her breath. “Do you need us to come rescue you?”

“No, I need you to find our sons,” Desmond hissed. He drew several long, deep breaths. “They won’t let us out of here to find them, and neither Seattle nor Yellowknife are able to pinpoint their locations.”

“You can’t just claim every male you like as your son, Charles,” Wendy said, smiling as she glanced at my mate. Reaching over, she ran her fingers through his hair. “I may allow it this once, though. He really is a lovely wolf, and if you do, that means I get to claim Sara as a daughter. I guess I’m okay with it.”

“What about the dead pack members?” Lisa asked.

“I don’t even know who died, where, or why—while I’m still technically the Alpha of Seattle’s pack, the only wolf I have a phone number for is stuck in the outpost with us. When they died, Joseph had to be sedated, and I think they intend to keep him drugged until Richard and Sanders are found.”

“Okay, Dad. Relax, please,” Lisa said. “I’m certain both Richard and Sanders are fine.”

“Until they’re both found, that’s speculation,” Desmond replied.

“Let’s discuss my pay, Father. You’re always telling us we should never work for free. You want me to pull a search and rescue. What is it worth to you?”

The silence was so awkward I burst into another fit of giggles, waking my mate. I twisted around and pressed my fingers to his mouth to keep him quiet. He blinked at me blearily, and when I pointed at the phone, his eyes widened.

“Do we really have to do this right now?” I heard Desmond groan and then sigh heavily. “Come on, Lisa. Don’t do this to me.”

“Come on, Dad,” she mimicked. “How much are those two obnoxious males really worth?”

Sanders scowled at Lisa, and while he remained silent, he flipped her off.

“Wendy, control your daughter.”

“Lisa, behave.”

“Oh, fine. I still think we should make him pay for his sons, seeing as he’s uninterested in his beautiful daughters,” Lisa grumbled. “Do I really have to have Sanders as a brother? I like Sara, though. She’s feisty.”

“They’re my precious sons because they keep my precious daughters happy. Does that satisfy you?” Desmond growled.

“He’s so honest when he’s drugged,” Lisa murmured.

Deciding Lisa had tormented her father enough, I nudged my mate with my elbow and nodded to the phone.

“Maybe if you were nicer to your daughters more often, Desmond, they wouldn’t enjoy taunting you so much,” my mate said, his voice slurred.

“Sanders!’ Desmond choked out.

“Richard’s here, too. He’s using my lady as a pillow, the rat. Nicolina sabotaged the runway so when the traitors came, they crashed rather spectacularly. More merciful than they deserved.” Sighing, Sanders secured his hold on me and pulled me closer. “Richard killed Sara’s father.”

“Richard did?” Surprise and pride lightened Desmond’s tone. “While drugged on wolfsbane?”

“You sound like you drank all of Charles’s liquor, Sanders. I’ll explain,” Wendy offered. “Sara called her father so we could put an end to this. We had no idea he had Sanders and Richard. He intended to give them to her as a present—to build her a harem, I suppose. Sick bastard, that’s what he was. So, Richard’s dosed pretty heavily. Mr. Watson ordered him to please Sara. Richard felt her up, found her gun, and when she told him killing her father would please her, Richard took the shot. We couldn’t; he was too close to Richard and Sara to risk it—not even Amber was willing to try it. It’s pretty windy here.”

“Neither of them are hurt?”

“None of us were hurt, save for Sara’s eardrums. That happened when Richard shot her father; he had to fire right near her head to take him out. Nicolina’s going to be down and out for a while, though—she had to do a lot of work to sabotage the runway without permanently damaging it. We’re at the Inquisition airfield outside of Anchorage. Sanders’s truck only seats six, but hopefully we can get Richard to shift to his puppy form so we’ll all fit.” Wendy laughed. “We’ll come rescue you, darling. Please deal with being a captive for just a little longer. No killing anyone without me.”

Leaning over, Wendy hung up on her mate. “Let’s get to the hotel so our males can rest—and before someone comes looking for the cause of that fireball.”

We stayed in Alaska for two days, which was how long it took for Richard to be able to transform. I thought shifting would help him fight the wolfsbane, but he remained so docile and wobbly I worried he’d suffer long-term consequences of being drugged.

“He’ll be fine,” Nicolina reassured me. I’d lost count of the times she had tried to convince me my anxiety was pointless. Instead of arguing with her, I sighed. Like Richard, Sanders shifted to his wolf, and while he wasn’t nearly as small as Yellowknife’s Alpha, he fit on the floorboard at my feet when he curled up. Since he seemed content to sleep, I left him alone. I removed my shoes and socks, burying my toes in his thick winter coat.

To maintain the illusion Richard and Sanders were dogs, Amber acquired falsified documentation proving their vaccinations and breed, although I doubted anyone would believe either were mutts; Sanders’s coat was too unique, and all I saw in both of them was pure wolf.

The border guards didn’t question us. When I inquired, Amber simply shrugged and smiled.

Determined to reach the Seattle in record time, we stopped only to eat, swapping drivers each time we filled up for gas. Forty hours later, Amber pulled the truck in at a warehouse outside of the city, and with a tired groan, she killed the engine.

“If they give us any problems, I’m shooting someone,” she snarled, which amused my wolf.

I prodded my mate awake, and unable to resist the urge, I clipped the leather leash to his collar. “Hey, Nicolina, can I hold Richard’s leash, too?”

She laughed, and as soon as we piled out of the truck, she gave me the leash, which earned me a baleful glare from Yellowknife’s Alpha. “She who holds the leashes holds the power?”

“I’d like to see someone try something right now,” I replied, firming my grip on Richard’s leash just in case he tried to pull away from me. “Your mate kissed mine, so I get to hold your leash and boss you around.”

He turned his ears back and bared his fangs at me.

“And don’t think I’ve forgotten you copping a feel, Mr. Murphy,” I added. “I forgave you for the kiss because you have such a nice mouth—not as nice as Sanders’s, though.”

“It’s the enthusiasm. Sanders sure does kiss like he means it, doesn’t he?” Nicolina said, grinning at my mate.

Whining, Richard pawed at Nicolina’s shoe, staring up at her in perfect imitation of a sad puppy. I stared at him with wide eyes. “So cute. I just want to pick him up and kiss him,” I blurted.

“I know. It’s terrible, isn’t it? I suppose I should let you, since he assaulted your person so terribly in Alaska,” Nicolina replied, winking at me.

“You two are the terrible ones,” Wendy said, giving me a shove in the direction of the warehouse’s front doors. “Let’s go rescue your father, Alex, and Joseph before they think we’ve abandoned them. I’m starving, my puppy is starving, and if we’re not fed soon, I’m going to start eating people.”

My stomach churned at the thought of food. “How can you even want to eat again? We just ate like three hours ago, Wendy.”

“Unlike you, I threw most of mine up,” she replied, wrinkling her nose. “One day, I will eat, and it will not rebel on me.”

Laughing, Nicolina shook her head. “Sure, Mom—in six or so months.”

Wendy snarled at her eldest daughter. “Just you wait. The instant you try for a puppy, I will be there, ready to offer you helpful advice while pretending to have sympathy when you throw everything up.”

Richard scrambled to face Wendy, staring at her with eyes so wide I feared they’d pop out of his head.

“Oh, great. Now you’ve gone and given him ideas. Thanks a lot, Mom.” Groaning, Nicolina hurried ahead to open the doors. “No, Richard, we are not having a puppy right now. You have to help Mom with hers, which means there’s absolutely zero chance I’m considering one at current. Forget the idea, Mr. Murphy. And don’t you even turn those sad eyes on me, sir.”