Page 90 of Taken by Moonlight
“Welcome to the underground bunker,” he said solemnly. “This is where the vulnerable adults and all our children hide when there’s awar.”
He took me down the hallway as Gabriel and Alex followed, still in wolf form. Everyone in the pack had their designated positions during a battle or when war threatened. Children under 18 were confined to this secret bunker, and so were pregnant women, mothers with young under the age of six, the elderly. Lately, all the women had been confined here because of the raids targetingthem.
Dante paused before one of the bedrooms lining the hallway. Each bedroom had bunk beds with lots of toys strewn on the floor. “Some of the women protested because they wanted to fight. I ordered them to remain here. I will not risk losing any of my pack to theBrowns.”
We continued the tour. Some bedrooms had queen-sized beds and were private, but most were dorm-style. The walls were painted bright blue or yellow, some with colorful murals of wolves running through theforest.
A few had large photos of the outdoors. All the lighting was soft andinviting.
The bunker was lined with steel, had its own separate air filtration system and water supply, as well as a generator. There was a large kitchen with granite counters, a stainless steel refrigerator/freezer, oven and range and a well-stockedpantry.
You could survive for weeksthere.
Dante showed me the office, the most Spartan room in the bunker. Dark walls, black leather chairs and banks of computer monitors displaying the outside – several sections of theranch.
They’d put in a mini theater and a rec room to make the conditions playful and less stressful for theyoung.
He led me now to the theater, where Wonder Woman played on the wide screen. Rows of theater-style seats were before the screen, but there was a large carpeted area infront.
Felicia sat in the one of the seats, away from the others. Several children were on the floor on their stomachs, watching with avidinterest.
I hung back, watching as Gabriel shifted back to human form, clad in jeans and a baseball shirt. No shoes. He swaggered inside, his long hair unbound and swaying, and sat behind Felicia, ticklingher.
“Fight like a girl,” hechanted.
Alex came inside to join them, still in wolf form. The kids climbed all over him, cuddling next tohim.
Werewolves adoredcuddling.
Dante strolled inside, sat next to his sister, put an arm around her. She rested her head against hisshoulder.
Then Dante signaled to me to join him. I walked with him to the room’s other side, and then out into thehallway.
Dante leaned against the wall, his gazetroubled.
“We will fight tomorrow, Peyton. We will fight to protect you, and our young and our vulnerable elderly and females. You need to know why Earl is really afteryou.”
For once, my infamous sense of humor fled. Iwaited.
His troubled gaze met mine. He cupped my cheek, stroked a thumb across my jawline. The tender caress fired all my nerve endings, yet there was nothing sexual aboutit.
“You’re unique, Peyton Jackson. You’re a human psi, but much more.” Dante drew in a deep breath. “You have the ability to not only read shifter auras, but control shifters when they are lost in a feralstate.”
Istared.
“Is this ajoke?”
“No.” His voice went very soft. “I saw it when you handled Felicia. Peyton, she was one step away from turning feral, being lost to us forever. You read her aura, used her energy to tame her and calmher.”
This was impossible. “No, I just talked withher.”
“You did much more. You used her energy, taking it into yourself, and releasing it as calm, glowing white energy.” Dante’s mouth compressed. “Any alpha worth his salt knows if he has you at his side, you can control other shifters. For a good reason, such as you did when you calmed Felicia, or a bad one… to control their energy to distract them so another pack can close in for thekill.”
My stomach twisted in knots. I had no idea of such a power. “I didn’t intend to doit.”
His gaze hardened. “This is what the Browns knew…and why they wanted you in their pack. You can be a formidable asset, or a weapon, to a shifterpack.”
“How could they know? How could you know, when I’m not aware of thismyself?!”
