Blood Vow (Blood Moon Rising) (12 page)

Fuck!

Rafe lifted his nose and picked up Falon’s and Lucien’s scents. His heart kicked against his rib cage when he thought of Falon and his stomach felt like a thousand swords hacked at it when he thought of her with Lucien. Due to the extreme circumstances in which they were thrown together, he knew her feelings for his brother were more than just a passing fancy. She loved Lucien, just as much as she loved Rafe. Hard to believe after the prick Lucien had been to her when she was Rafe’s. But who could resist Luca? His brother was hard to resist on a normal day, impossible when he wanted something. And he’d wanted Falon more than anything in his life, except to save their parents. She hadn’t stood a chance. Rafe knew exactly what would happen between them the minute the council announced their verdict. It was why he had reacted so violently.

The only good thing about the woman he loved falling in love with his brother and his brother loving her the same? Lucien had grown up. Falon had forced him to deal with his demons and move on from them. Much as she had Rafe.

He shoved his fingers through his hair. Decision time. He could force Falon, despite her attempt to release him from their marks, to accept him as her only mate but he would lose part of her if he did. Just as Lucien would if he forced Falon to choose him. And if either he or Lucien forced a choice? They would each lose a brother again. This time for eternity.

Fuck! He would not share her!

Would he?

Rafe shifted and followed the scents downstream. As he came to the edge of a narrow bluff he looked down to see Falon and Lucien lying naked on the bank, their limbs entwined, their lips locked. Falon’s essence was strong. It permeated the forest, its seductive snare luring him down the steep incline. Rafe growled at her ardor for his brother. And yet, despite his anger, his blood warmed at the erotic sight of Falon writhing sensually beneath Lucien.

He shifted and moved closer.

Gods, she was sexy as hell. He could smell the warmth of her skin. Feel its sultry smoothness against his. The soft way it glided across him.

He wanted that. To cover her with his body. Take her into his arms. Feel her firm breasts scrape across his chest, and then feel the warm rush of her breath as she moaned in pleasure when she surrendered to him. Oh, yes, he wanted all of that and more. He would have it. On his terms.

Rafael stepped closer, preparing to take what was his, but then he stopped.

Even from the distance he was aware of Falon’s bright blue eyes riveted on him. She bit her bottom lip as a long raspy moan slid from her throat.

Come with us, Rafa . . .
her siren’s call enticed.

He licked his dry lips and took a step closer.

Her knees rose as her long slender legs locked around Lucien’s hips. Rafe’s erection throbbed painfully against his hip.

He maneuvered farther down the steep embankment so that he was downwind of them. Falon’s low moans of pleasure excited him, pulled him closer. As he approached the love-locked couple, his body tightened. The urge to tear his brother apart hovered in the shadows, taking second seat to his hunger for Falon. It drove him closer. So close that he stood just behind them.

She opened her eyes, and this time smiled a slow seductive smile that tugged at him balls deep. His cock thickened painfully. He didn’t see Lucien; he saw only erotic pleasure on Falon’s lips, in her eyes, in the deep sigh of her breath.

Her chest gleamed with a thin sheen of sweat.

Rafa,
she moaned as she offered herself to Lucien.

Falon,
Lucien growled, sliding into her.

Her back arched as her breath escaped her lungs.

Rafe wrapped his hand around his cock and with each thrust of Lucien’s hips into Falon, he stroked himself. He held her sultry gaze as she accepted his brother. In perfect synchronization, Rafe stroked himself to Lucien’s tempo, never once taking his eyes off Falon’s.

When she bit her bottom lip this time, he knew she was going to come. And when she did, so did Rafe, and he was quickly followed by Lucien. Rafe’s rough groans overrode Falon’s primeval cries and Lucien’s triumphant howl.

In a wild cacophony of primal cries, the three of them climaxed together. And with it, scissions of energy crackled around them. Jagged flashes of green, blue, and gold popped and snapped, first as singular streaks, then entwined with veracity and speed connecting the three of them. Falon’s body thrummed with highly charged energy infusing both Rafe and Lucien with it.

Rafe did not resist the pull; he welcomed the power of the connection. Lucien stared in awe. Falon’s eyes widened as she reached out to Rafe. He took her hand, the ring on his finger flared at the contact.

Power surged painfully between them. Hot air whooshed wildly around them, stoking the heat to unbearable. The velocity of the power shot through Rafe with the force of a tsunami. Unable to move, only to stare, he knew Falon and Lucien were experiencing the same thing. Just when it seemed as if he could not take the brunt of the force any longer, a nasty black lightning bolt struck Falon in the chest, separating them.

Their connection broken, Falon screamed in pain and—

“No!” Falon screamed, standing up and shaking her fists at the forest. “I will not succumb to your darkness!”

“Falon,” Rafe said, pressing his hand to the raw mark between her breasts where the energy struck.

She grasped his hand, pressing it harder against her flesh. Her body steamed as his healing warmth infused her.

“What the hell just happened?” Lucien demanded.

Despite the traumatic events that had just passed, Falon stood tall and calm, smiling knowingly, as her dark blue eyes snapped with energy. “The power of three.”

“What was that that separated us?” Lucien asked.

“Corbet magic.”

“Corbet magic? How?” Rafe asked, not liking the sound of that at all. How could that happen when there wasn’t a Corbet for miles?

“I don’t know—I just know what it was,” Falon said, stumbling over her words.

“Corbet knows what will happen if the three of us—unite,” Lucien said seriously. “I guess that’s his way of saying no fucking way.”

But Rafe caught the twinkle in his brother’s eyes. He knew exacly what generated it.
Son of a bitch.
Were they going to talk about what just happened before the disturbance? Rafe swiped his hand across his face. What
did
just happen? Damn it, he didn’t want to dissect it and analyze it. It happened. Period.

“Let’s just get the hell out of here,” Rafe said, feeling uncomfortable for a lot of reasons.

As they turned back toward the cabin, Falon took Rafael’s hand. His body immediately reacted. Heat, energy and I-want-to-fuck pheromones clashed.

He swallowed hard when he looked down into her bright eyes.

“Thank you,” she said softly.

He scowled.
Thank you for not ripping his brother out of her?

Rafael looked ahead to Lucien, who looked over his shoulder and graced Rafe with a shit-eating grin.
Bastard.
Rafe wanted to be pissed, he wanted to kick his brother’s ass, but he didn’t. Because what happened between the three of them just now, changed everything. Rafe wasn’t exactly sure how, but they were beyond chest-beating pissing contests now.

The issue with Falon aside, Rafe had sixteen years to make up for and as he stood there looking at his brother, love swelled for him. He had missed Lucien. He was never going down that road again.

“For what?” he asked, knowing what she implied. Somehow, if he didn’t actually talk about it, he wouldn’t have to accept it.

“Trying.”

He shook his head and brought her in under his shoulder as they continued to walk. “If anyone would have told me I would stand by while my brother fu—made love to you, and that I would get excited by it, I would have burned them alive for talking such trash.” He looked down at her and smiled. His breath caught in his chest when she smiled happily up at him. “Just don’t push it.”

“Oh, I won’t.” She nipped his chest. “Unless I have to.”

Rafe shook his head. “Why did you go after Anja like that?”

She stiffened but kept her pace.

Lucien slowed so that he fell in step with them. “You nearly killed her, angel face. Not cool.”

The color drained from her cheeks. “I— Something dark and terrible came over me. I think it’s the Corbet blood.”

Rafe looked over Falon’s head to Lucien, who looked as concerned as he felt.

“Maybe you need an infusion of our blood?”

Her body shivered again. “I don’t think that’s going to help.”

“You were out of control, Falon. I didn’t want to hurt you,” Lucien said. “But you can’t go around attacking your own people.”

“I know that. It’s just— Is Anja okay?”

“Yes, and on her way back to the packs,” Rafe answered.

“She’ll inform the council,” Falon predicted.

“We’ll deal with that after the rising. Right now we have to get out of here. We have a plane to catch.”

Shockingly, for the first time in his life, Rafe didn’t give a rat’s ass what the council had to say on the matter. Everything had changed the night Falon stumbled bloody and bruised into his life. The game had changed and the rules were different. Who knew what tomorrow would bring? It was about surviving in the minute and to survive there could be no rules.

Twelve

FALON WOKE TO the pilot’s voice announcing they would be landing in thirty minutes. She had fallen asleep with her head on Rafael’s shoulder and her feet in Lucien’s lap. She had never felt more safe or loved.

She had taken a huge chance back at the stream. Though she had made a vow that until they agreed to be as one with her, she would withhold herself from them both, that went out the window when Lucien had kissed her and she’d sensed Rafael nearby. She’d hoped at the very least he would watch and not become enraged but become aroused. And it had worked. Not only had Rafael become aroused he had joined in, and just as amazing was the energy they’d created as they climaxed together. It had been off-the-charts incredible. She still got breathless thinking about it.

But then Corbet had ruined it. And it had been Thomas, she was certain! How had he snuck up on them without them detecting his scent? Or was his magic so powerful he sensed what was happening and sent his magic from wherever he was? How terrifying if that was the case. It meant he could see and hear her. It meant he could disrupt her when she least expected it. It meant—

How dare he intrude on such an intimate moment! Oh, she couldn’t wait to sink her teeth into that monster! The need to kill him flared hot. With his death she was certain the darkness in her would die, too.

“Hey,” Rafe said, kissing the top of her head. “Relax, baby. We’ve got nothing but clear skies ahead.”

She looked up into Rafael’s sea green eyes and lost herself. His lips lowered to hers. Her body’s natural response was to arch into him as her arms snaked around his neck. When their lips met, warmth swept through her. “Oh, Rafa,” she whispered, molding herself into him. “I love you.”

Lucien’s fingers tightened around her feet.

I love you, too, Luca.

She smiled against Rafa’s lips. Juggling these two alphas’ egos was going to be a full-time job.

“Do I amuse you?” Rafa seriously asked against her lips.

Her smile widened and she giggled. “No,” she said. He tickled her. She squealed and tried to move away from him, but Rafa was relentless.

“You think it’s funny the way my brother and I growl at each other over you?”

“No!” she gasped when he tickled her again. “Rafa!” she cried and pounced on him, grasping his face and kissing him. His strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her onto his lap.

His erection poked her in the butt. But when he tickled her again, she squealed erupting into a fit of giggles and melted against him.

“Seat belts, children,” Lucien said sourly.

Falon stuck her tongue out at him but did as he requested.

Fifty minutes later they had their luggage, which included their swords, clothing, and electronics. They rented a small van and headed west.

“I trust you two have a plan?” Falon asked as she enjoyed the landscape.

“We’re headed to Westbury where we think Peter Corbet is buried. I’m going to guess he was buried with his sword.”

“We’re going to dig up a dead person?” she asked surprised.

Lucien glanced up at her from his iPad. “Really, Falon? You almost killed Rafe’s chosen one twleve hours ago and you’re worried about digging up the bastard that started it all?”

“It’s—it just seems sacrilegious.”

“The entire Corbet bloodline can go to hell as far as I’m concerned.”

Falon swallowed hard and nodded. She was a Corbet, would he want her to go to hell, too?

The waxing moon showed them the way. She was sorry it grew dark. The English countryside was beautiful. But the closer they got to Westbury, the more uneasy Falon became. With each mile they drove west the stronger a new and foreboding scent became. She was plagued with the same feelings she’d had the morning Fenrir was released.

“I don’t like this,” she cautioned.

Lucien turned to face her. “What do you mean?”

“I can smell them everywhere.”

“Who?”

“Corbets. And they know we’re coming.”

“I don’t smell Slayers,” Rafe said from the driver’s seat.

“These aren’t Slayers, they’re witches.”

Fuck.

It was the eve of the full moon. And as they rolled into what Falon would have guessed was normally a sleepy English village, now it was alight with torches, bonfires in the streets and—

“Oh, my God! Are those fresh wolf heads hanging on the village gates?”

It was as if they had gone back eight hundred years. The village people that mulled the cobblestone streets were dressed in medieval garb. Dark magic swirled eerily around them and punctuating each shopfront and building were bloody pentagrams.

“Wolves have been extinct here for hundreds of years. Where did those fresh kills come from?” Falon asked. While she was not technically a wolf, her heart went out to the animals that were slain simply because they represented an age-old hate.