Marked by the Moon

18

Did he know?

That was impossible. If Daniel thought she was working for Edward, he certainly wouldn’t be this nice to her. No one would be.

The reminder of the second reason that she was here, and what she was supposed to do once she had what she’d come for, made Alex’s stomach pitch and her skin crawl.

She had a sudden image of Edward Mandenauer and a posse of J-S agents descending on Barlowsville, shooting wolves like fish in a barrel.

Alex gave a mental wince. She should probably stop being so buddy-buddy with the enemy.

“You don’t think you’re safe?” she asked.

Daniel shrugged. “I know Edward.”

“Personally?” Alex’s voice lifted with surprise, and the older man smiled.

“Unfortunately, yes.”

Alex opened her mouth to ask for this story, forgetting her resolve to stop befriending every werewolf that sat in her station, and Daniel’s smile bloomed, happiness lighting his eyes and causing his slightly slumped shoulders to straighten. However, the expression wasn’t for Alex but for the young man who’d just walked through the door.

“Wow” was all Alex could manage before the new arrival’s gaze went to the counter, zeroed in on Daniel, and the same smile blossomed all over his face.

The guy was Calvin Klein model handsome—with feathered black hair, deep blue eyes, chiseled cheekbones, and a body that would make a werewolf jealous. Hell, she was.

He wore a blue, white, and black plaid flannel shirt over what appeared to be an extremely tight white wife beater. She had time to wish it was warm enough in here to take off the flannel before she was distracted by how he filled out his jeans.

He strode straight for Daniel, and the older man stood, waiting for him with obvious pleasure. Alex figured he was Daniel’s son, or maybe his grandson, produced before whatever tragedy had made Daniel choose to become a werewolf. Though what could have induced this specimen to become one, too—and hide himself away here in the Arctic when he could be strutting shirtless on a catwalk somewhere—Alex probably didn’t want to know. Then Hot Guy reached them, cupped Daniel’s jaw, and planted one right on his lips.

Alex blinked. Then she blinked again. Then she glanced around the coffee shop, but no one appeared as shocked by this as she was. She suspected they’d seen it before.

Eventually the new arrival stopped giving Daniel the tongue and lifted his head, meeting Alex’s eyes and winking. “Probably want to close that mouth, ma’am, ’fore you catch flies.”

He had the most gorgeous southern accent, incongruous with the flannel shirt and heavy boots he wore, and the land of ice he’d just walked in from.

“I—uh—yeah,” Alex returned. Why she’d thought all werewolves were straight she had no idea. In truth, she’d never thought much about werewolves beyond how she could kill them.

Daniel turned, stars in his eyes, goofy smile on his lips, and the young man reached for Daniel’s hand with a gesture Alex found very sweet. They stood there, the tall, muscular, youthful demigod and the short, skinny, dapper old gentleman, both grinning like idiots. Alex just hoped Daniel didn’t get his heart broken anytime soon. She didn’t want to be here to see it. She liked Daniel.

And since when did she like a werewolf?

“This is Josh,” Daniel said.

“Hi.” Alex offered her hand. “I’m—”

“Alex.” Josh placed his palm against hers. His was toasty warm, despite having just come in from the cold without gloves. “I know.” He shrugged, and his lips quirked engagingly. “We all do.”

“Right.” She’d met them in the town square while naked. That should bother her, but it didn’t. There were a lot of things that used to bother Alex that didn’t any longer.

“We’re off to the market,” Daniel said.

“We need to get some hamburger,” Josh informed him.

Alex hoped hamburger was actually hamburger around here.

“Don’t you have a job?” she blurted.

Daniel cast her a quick glance, and she realized she might as well have asked: Is he your boy toy?

But Josh just laughed. “We own the movie theater. Don’t have to go in until later.”

“There’s a movie theater?”

“It’s a town. Why wouldn’t there be?”

Considering that the inhabitants of this town liked to spend their evenings running on four paws beneath the light of the moon, Alex didn’t figure a theater would get much business.

“What do you show?” she asked. “Wild Kingdom kind of stuff?”

Josh’s forehead creased. “What?”

“Caribou? Rabbits? Whitetail? Maybe some zebra and antelope to jazz things up?”

Josh glanced at Daniel, who shrugged. “She thinks we show films of prey.”

Understanding spread over Josh’s face, quickly followed by confusion again. “Why?”

“She’s still new.” Daniel patted Josh’s arm. “She’ll catch up.”

“Catch up?” Alex echoed. “To the caribou?”

But the two were already headed for the door.

“See you tomorrow!” Daniel called as they left.

“You seem worried.” Rose had left her perch at the cash register to join Alex behind the counter.

“I hope he doesn’t get hurt.”

“Hurt?” Rose repeated, appearing genuinely puzzled.

“Young guy, older man. Usually doesn’t last.”

Rose laughed. “They’ve been together since 1783.”

“They—What?”

“You thought they met here?”

Alex wasn’t sure what she’d thought.

“You know,” Rose said quietly. “We’re people most of the time.”

Alex tilted her head, studying Rose’s serene face. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to say.”

“You think we’re different than other people? We really aren’t.”

“You turn into wolves beneath the moon, Rose. How different can you get?”

“But when the moon is down, we’re just like everyone else.”

“Order!” Joe sang.

Alex began to load her tray. “You sure don’t eat like everyone else.”

Rose laughed. “Barlowsville is the same as any other city in the Arctic. Coffee shop that serves the same food as a thousand other coffee shops. Movie theater that shows the same movies they show at any other theater in Alaska. Bookstore with the same books. Shoe shop. Grocery store.”

“Big white laboratory with your own resident Dr. Frankenstein,” Alex continued. “Lord of the Wolves telling everyone where to go and what to do. And your own personal blood bank of Inuit.”

Rose’s eyes widened. Alex wanted to bite off her tongue. Why not? It would grow back.

“Julian really must trust you,” she said.

Alex moved back to the counter and began to unload her very full tray in front of the single customer that remained from the breakfast rush. She glanced at the clock. She had maybe half an hour before the lunch crowd descended.

She smiled at the young woman, who could have been the local schoolteacher if there’d been a school. “Anything else?”

Mouth already full of scrambled eggs, she shook her head, and Alex turned back to Rose. “Why would you say that?”

“You’ve been here what? A day? And you’ve already met Cade; you know what he does. Not to mention the village.” Rose peered into her face as if she might discover all of Alex’s secrets. “New wolves don’t usually learn about the Inuit until after the first full moon.”

Alex wasn’t going to admit how she’d discovered Cade, or why Julian had taken her to Awanitok. But she wasn’t sure what she should say instead, so she said nothing.

“And now with all the trouble over there—”

“You know about that?”

“Not much stays secret around here.”

Alex hoped that wasn’t true.

“Any idea who’s gone rogue?” Alex asked.

“No one in this village!” Rose put her hand over her ample bosom. “We would never hurt anyone.”

Rose obviously believed that, as did the rest of the café. Everyone in the restaurant was bobbing their head in agreement. They’d been listening in. Considering their werewolf ears, it was hard not to.

Rose nibbled her lower lip. “Julian hasn’t brought home a new wolf since—” She broke off.

“Alana. I know.”

Rose’s eyes widened even farther. “You won’t hurt him, will you?”

“Hurt? Him?” Alex thought he’d be more likely to kill her. But she decided to keep that to herself.

Rose lifted one shoulder. “He’s our alpha. I don’t know what we’d do without him.”

“Anything you wanted,” Alex muttered.

Rose tilted her head. “You don’t seem to like him.”

“What’s to like? He’s an arrogant, domineering control freak.”

Rose’s lips curved. “We are what we were when we were made.” At Alex’s confused expression, she continued, “He was a Viking. Becoming a werewolf didn’t change that.”

“Becoming a werewolf changes everything,” Alex said.

“Yes and no. At least for wolves like us. Certainly there are lifestyle changes.” She tapped one ear. “No more silver hoops. Can’t make any plans for one night out of twenty-eight. But when we become one of Julian’s wolves, we retain who we were. Haven’t you?”

Alex nodded absently. She had. She couldn’t argue. But Rose’s explanation had given her an idea.

“So Barlow is a dick because he was a Viking, and Daniel was, is, and always will be gay, just like Josh.”

“And Joe will always love music and people and food, and I will always love Joe,” Rose said.

“What if you were a killer when you were made?” Alex asked. “What then?”

Rose, who’d been smiling at Alex as if she were the smartest kid in this year’s kindergarten class, froze. “I —uh—what?”

“If fabulous human beings become fan-damn-tastic werewolves, then it follows that a psychotic killer as a human would become an equally psychotic killer as a werewolf.”

“I suppose,” Rose agreed. “But Julian would never allow someone like that to become one of us.”

Alex glanced out the front window as a cloud danced over the sun. “What if he didn’t know?”

Julian was so furious when he came into the house that he took one look at the empty fireplace, absently thought about building a fire, and kaboom—he had one.

Flames shot up the chimney with such force he was concerned he might set the roof ablaze. As it was he singed the arm of a chair that he’d placed a little too close to survive spontaneous combustion.

“Faet!” he muttered, then closed his eyes and recalled how he’d pressed a kiss to Alex’s head and murmured shh. The image caused a fresh burst of fury, allowing him to put out the fire without having to climb onto the roof or even step a single foot into the living room.

Then he strode through his house, tossed off his clothes, turned the shower to Arctic, and stepped right in. He hadn’t made a mistake like that with his magic since…

Julian yanked his head from beneath the frigid stream. He hadn’t made a mistake like that with his magic since he’d discovered it.

Alex took over his mind, his body, his emotions. He had a hard time controlling himself in any way when she was near. Which, if he wasn’t careful, was going to lead to a lot more serious mistakes than starting a wildfire in his fireplace.

How long was he going to be able to stand having her in town? How long before he did something he really regretted like—

“Like what?” he muttered. “You’ve already slept with her. What else is there?”

Shh. His own voice drifted through his mind, followed by that image of himself kissing her hair, holding her close.

The jittery roll in his gut reminded him that there were a lot worse things than sleeping with the enemy.

Julian shut off the water and heaved a relieved sigh. He might live in the Arctic, he might be a Viking by birth, but no man enjoyed ice on his genitals for very long.

Julian donned a fresh pair of jeans and a minnesota vikings sweatshirt that someone had given him for Christmas as a joke—really, who wore purple and yellow on purpose—and stepped onto the porch.

His snowmobile sat at the north end of the house. Minutes later he raced toward Awanitok where Jorund the younger told him what had happened to Dr. Cosgrove.

“When he didn’t come to work, his assistant went to the house. She found him—” The old man sighed. “— or what was left of him in the backyard.”

“The first body was discovered several yards outside of town,” Julian clarified, and Jorund nodded.

Which meant the rogue was becoming bolder.

“No one saw anything this time?”

“No, Ataniq.”

The two of them stared down at the bloody blotch in the snow. There were no tracks. The snow was like ice. A common problem around here.

“Order everyone to stay inside after dark,” Julian said.

“There is a lot of dark at this time of year.”

“Then there will be a lot of staying inside until this is over,” Julian snapped, and went home.

Ella stood on his porch wearing a concerned expression. “Have you seen Alex?” she asked.

He’d thought she would go back to Ella’s that morning, but if she hadn’t…maybe she’d stayed with Cade just to piss him off.

Julian’s blood pressure rose at the idea of what else she could do with Cade that would piss him off. “She wouldn’t dare,” he muttered.

“Dare what?” Ella tilted her head. “Your face is getting red.”

Julian imagined steam coming out of his ears. Big mistake because the next thing Ella said was: “There’s steam coming out of your ears.”

If he wasn’t careful he was going to melt his brain into gruel.

“Faet!” Julian said. “Faet. Faet. Faet.” Anything to keep himself from imagining something he might not be able to recover from.

“Calm down.” Ella opened the door to his house and stepped inside, drawing him along with cool, slim fingers on his arm. “I’m sure she’s around here somewhere.”

Julian was sure she was, too. Because if she’d gone too far he’d be gripping his gut and wishing for a basketball-size Tums.

And that thought had him sitting in the nearest chair and putting his head between his knees. Idiot. How was he ever going to get rid of her?

Ella bent down, put a hand on his leg, and peered into his face. “Maybe you should tell me what’s going on.”

“I wish I knew.”

“She bothers you.”

“Bother.” He laughed. “Yeah. That’s what she does.”

“She seems angry. Like she doesn’t want to be here. Like she despises you. I can’t believe—” She paused. “You wouldn’t—I mean you didn’t—”

Julian’s patience snapped. “Just ask me what you want to know, Ella.”

“Tell me that you didn’t make her like us against her will, Julian.”

He remained silent. She had said not to tell her.

“How could you?” Ella straightened and stepped back, as if she could no longer stand to be near him. “The poor thing.”

Poor thing? Alexandra Trevalyn was not a poor thing.

“There are countless women in this village who would be happy if you looked their way. Women in Awanitok as well. You didn’t have to—”

“Hold on.” Julian lifted his head. “Why do you think I brought her here?” His eyes widened as her cheeks flushed and she glanced down. “You thought I saw her, wanted her, and took her?”

“You’re a Viking,” she said simply.

“I haven’t raped or pillaged in at least a decade.”

Ella gave him a look that only a true Frenchwoman could give—one that made Julian want to apologize not only for being sarcastic, but for every transgression he’d ever made in all his lifetimes.

Julian sighed. “You know why I went to LA.” Ella was the only one he’d told.

“You had a lead on Alana’s killer. But you came back with—” Ella’s mouth continued to open and close, but no sound came out for several seconds. “Julian,” she finally managed. “What did you do?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

She smacked him in the back of the head as if he were a recalcitrant student and she a teaching nun from the Dark Ages. “Why would you make the woman who killed your heart, your soul, your wife like us? That’s a gift.”

“She’d consider it a curse. She does consider it a curse. Which is the whole point.”

“You had better explain your point, because I am not seeing it.”

“She believes she killed a monster.”

“But she did not.”

“She’ll never understand that until she understands —”

“Us,” Ella finished, comprehension dawning in her eyes. “You made her like us so she could see what she’d done and agonize about it forever.”

Julian spread his hands and shrugged.

“Fool,” she snapped.

Julian pulled back quickly before she smacked him again. But Ella was so furious, she began to pace like a caged…wolf.

“You brought the enemy into our midst. You think she won’t tell Edward where we are and how to get here.” Ella stood and turned toward the door. “She’s probably halfway to Juneau already.”

Julian caught her hand, holding on when she tugged and snarled. “When I get too far away from her I get physically sick.”

She stopped struggling, and her frown returned. “Why?”

“She was the first one of my wolves I ever tried to leave behind before she was able to fend for herself.”

Ella gave him another look that would have melted metal and muttered a word that sounded suspiciously like “Ass” before continuing: “You believe the same thing would have happened if you’d left any of us too soon?”

“I did, until I went running the other night and had to stop because of the pain.” He took a deep breath, then let it out. “I think it’s only her.”

“There’s something different about Alex,” Ella murmured. “You need to find out what it is.”

Julian was already on top of that. He stifled a wince at the innuendo and the predictable image it brought to mind.

He’d meant to tell Cade about this development when the two of them were alone—call him foolish, but he hadn’t wanted Alex to know that the absence of her company turned him into a weak, writhing wimp—but he hadn’t done so yet. Now would be a good time.

Julian stood. “Alex may be at the lab. You want to come along?”

“I need to get back to work.” Ella ran their version of a post office, routing all deliveries through the Inuit village. “If she isn’t with Cade, let me know. Otherwise I’ll see her when I get home tonight.”

“You don’t want her out of your house?”

“What?” Ella had been heading for the door, but now she turned. “Why?”

“You said she was the enemy.”

“I’ve changed my mind. Edward would kill her just as quickly as he’d kill any one of us. He’d think she was the enemy, too.” Her lips curved. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

“Alex is a killer.”

“We’re all killers, Julian.”

“That’s the wolf; it’s instinct. We don’t—”

“We do,” she interrupted. “Only once, oui, for most of us, but we kill. It’s instinct, as you say. At the time we do not know any better. But wasn’t it instinct for Alex to shoot a werewolf? At the time, did she not know any better?”

“I—” Julian paused, uncertain. “I still wouldn’t think you’d want her in your house.”

Ella stared at him as if he’d lost his mind, then muttered something in French, ending with a word that sounded like an epithet: “Hommes!” [Men!]

“What did I do?” Julian asked.

“I would not throw that poor girl from my home. She is the victim here.”

Julian snorted, then backed up with his hands raised when Ella’s eyes narrowed. He might be the alpha, but that also meant he had the brains to know when his interests were best served by shutting up.

“You said you had not raped and pillaged in decades, but making someone a werewolf against their will is rape.”

He opened his mouth, but she made a sharp gesture and he shut it again.

“She has had her very self stripped away.” Ella walked to the front door, opened it, then glanced back. “You need to think about that, Julian.”

Her anger caused Ella’s accent to deepen, and his name came out sounding very French indeed.