Page 60 of Luna Rising

One side of her mouth lifted. “I promised Nana Essie I would if things weren’t looking good.”

Normally, there was a lot of hand waving involved in Winter’s magic. It wasn’t a criticism, simply a fact. Yet she had opened that portal without lifting a finger or muttering a single word. Even more impressive—or terrifying—she’d opened a remote passageway. At the very least, that took a lot of magic.

Murmurings ran through the clearing. Council members turned to one another as if looking for guidance. Despite accusing Winter of being a mortal eternal, they’d underestimated her abilities. Not smart, I thought, giving her hand a squeeze.

“Enough.” Ilyod raised his right hand to call for silence, gesturing for one of the wolves to join him.

A burly man with salt-and-pepper hair and a matching beard lumbered over. He was large, like an alpha, but lacked the domineering presence of my father, or Ewan. My focus shifted to my family. Only my mother projected confidence. Well, and Brooke. She didn’t know the truth about her heritage, yet she stood as tall as if she did. They had nothing to hide, so I shouldn’t have worried, but I did.

It didn’t help that the council saved the Gemini wolves for last, the same as their fae counterparts. Six of the nine packs handed over suspected eternals—twenty shifters total. I felt sick as I watched lines of guards march out of portals and take the wolves into custody.

For better or worse, I didn’t recognize any of their faces from my dreams.

When they called the Gemini wolves forward, Winter lent me her strength instead of the other way around. Mrs. Wynn patted my other arm. The two council representatives greeted my father and Zach and then turned to my mother.

“Rosalind Snyder, are you aware that an eternal can only be reborn if their bloodline still exists?”

My mother tipped her chin up. “I was not. Thank you for educating me, Elder Bollinger,” she said to Ilyod, sounding suspiciously like me.

“Rosalind found her fire,” Colleen said with a smile.

I’d forgotten that Winter’s mother knew my parents from when they were younger. Or maybe I’d blocked the information from my memory, because I didn’t want to think about a time when our parents were our age. It felt sort of incestuous in a way I couldn’t really describe.

“As the mother of a known eternal, the blame for her birth falls upon you.”

My nails shot into claws. No. No. No fucking no. I would not allow them to punish my mother for my sins.

Mom didn’t back down. “I did my duty to my mate and my pack. Your only proof that Zara is eternal is the word of a man harboring a decades-old grudge. Isn’t that right, Jonah?”

“I watched a vampire drink her blood and walk in the daylight.” Jonah’s voice boomed across the clearing. “My heir saw it, too.”

Liam, the fucking traitor, nodded like a bobble-head.

“Ah, yes, but our family has also spurned your son. As I understand, Liam didn’t take Zara’s engagement well.” She leveled a razor-sharp stare at the rival alpha. “Oh, my sincere apologies, Jonah. I thought you knew your son was intimate with my daughter.”

I couldn’t decide whether to die of humiliation or give my mother a standing ovation. Liam had been my secret, or so I’d thought. How long had my mother known the truth and said nothing?

Jonah roared his displeasure. From somewhere in the shadows, Ewan responded, his growl both a threat and a promise. It was probably wrong for me to enjoy watching Liam and his father cower as they felt the power of their one true alpha.

“He won’t let them hurt Rosalind,” Mrs. Wynn assured me.

Ewan had refused to intervene during the eternal round-up. Still, I didn’t doubt that he would barrel into the clearing to save my mother. What I wanted to know was why my father remained silent while the council questioned his mate.

“Word has reached this council that your daughter has mated with a known risen eternal. The new alpha of the Taurus pack.”

Mom squared her shoulders. Her voice was so flat when she spoke, the words sounded ominous and prophetic. “Then I suggest you prepare to bow before your Luna.”

Black Mass

Everything went silent, time moving in slow motion. When Ilyod finally spoke, his voice sounded distorted to my vampire ears.

“Kill her and take the boy.”

Like a rubber band, time snapped back the other way. I moved so quickly that I surprised myself, spinning to face Winter head on. “Open a portal.” She blinked at me. I tried to hold my temper, really, I did. Still, I shook Winter like a rag doll. I wasn’t proud of my actions, but I didn’t regret them either. “Open a fucking portal now!”

The entire house shook with my rage. Kiernan shifted as if my sorrow had called forth his wolf. When Mrs. Wynn shifted, I understood the power Ewan wielded. Howls chorused throughout the canyon.

Ewan’s alpha commands might not have swayed Winter, but mine did. She wove a golden door of light faster than I’d ever seen.

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