Page 54 of Touched By Moonlight
“I have no desire to hurt your brother or anyone else here. Now will you tell me what happened?” I asked, my voicegentle.
He gestured to the grass. We sat, far from the pile of vaporizedmetal.
“Stephan and I shared the same father, the alpha of our pack. He had four mates, and Stephan’s mother was the youngest. Mine was the first mate, and held moreseniority.”
No wonder Stephan thought sharing was natural. “Goon.”
“Stephan is six years younger than me and from the moment of his birth, he was small, frail and not expected to survive. But he was also a fighter. I ended up helping all the moms care for him. I grew attached. He was so damn cheerful. Nothing ever seemed to get him down. When he was a kid, the others would pick on him so I stood up for him. They respected me. Our pack was… tough. Survival of the fittest. I knew Stephan would be toast on his own. So I made sure everyone knew if they dared to mess with him, they’d answer tome.”
Nicolas’s scar flared white again, his distress mounting as hetalked.
“Shortly after I was born, we had moved to a rugged area of Washington, interacting with humans only as needed. Our sire had purchased the land to accommodate a growing pack. We’d heard there was Fae living nearby who protected small animals. The old man set about building cabins, growing crops, making it easier to live off thegrid.”
Rumors of a Fae usually proved true. But my people are tricky. We don’t reveal ourselves until we wish it, or until it’s toolate.
“The Fae didn’tprotest?”
“Not at first. We never knew she existed for years. I think I was around 22 and Stephan 16 when the first incident happened. She left a note on a tree, asking us to move because we were hunting deeper and deeper into the woods she protected. I found it, and from then on, directed our hunts away from that area, until the old man decided against it. When I told him what happened, he scoffed and yelled into the forest that it was his land and he would do with it as he damn wellpleased.”
“Oh boy,” I muttered, my stomachroiling.
“Our sire tolerated us having lovers outside the pack for no longer than a few days. If they stayed longer, the consequences were grim. When he turned 18, Stephan became a female magnet. He inherited our father’s alpha pheromone to attract females, and he used it to his advantage. It was fine, as long as his lovers only stayed a night or two. Sometimes I slept with them as well to pass them off as mine to take our sire’s focus offStephan.”
“Noble of you,” Imuttered.
Lost in thought, Nicolas didn’t seem to hear. “The trouble came when Stephan met a wounded witch named Dania. They met in the forest when Stephan was hunting. He brought her back to our home to heal and treat her injury. She was so mild and sweet, the sire tolerated her. She became Stephan’s lover.” His jaw tightened. “And my lover as well. Dania liked usboth.”
I had an idea of where this was going, and dreaded hearing what happened next. But I needed to hearit.
“Stephan fell in love with her. So did you.” Unable to meet his gaze, I looked away. “She used a love spell onhim.”
“Everyone fell in love with her.” He squeezed his handstight.
My heart ached. They had no clue of the power of my people tomanipulate.
“After two weeks, she was fully integrated into our pack. Even the old man thought she was terrific. And then one night she saw Stephan eating as wolf, and called him out on it. Told him he was a savage, and the most disgusting person she’d ever met. I’ll never forget how Stephan looked after he shifted into his human form. So fucking ashamed, as if being a wolf was adisease.”
Nicolas unfurled his fingers. “I pulled her aside, told her to shut up and then bam. She revealed what she truly was in front ofeveryone.”
“A Fae,” I whispered. “The one living in yourwoods.”
“Not an ordinary Fae. A Fionn. A fucking pissed off Fionn,” Nicolas saidtightly.
My heart dropped to my stomach. No wonder Nick distrustedme.
“She laughed and told the old man she’d been waiting for this moment, a chance to drive us away from her forest and her forest creatures she protected, the ones we hunted and dined upon. She told the old man thanks to Stephan, she would exact her revenge. She sent a tornado through our territory. Homes were destroyed. More than a few of the pack got hurt. An elderly member died, and when it was over, there was little left. The bitch got what she wanted. Wemoved.”
He drew in a deep breath. “But before we did, I tracked her down while she slept. And I tore her throatout.”
Silence draped between us for a moment. I understood. My voice was steady as I spoke. “Fionn are vulnerable after we create storms. We lose power and mustrest.”
Most Fionn. I did not tell him I had thisneed.
Fisting his hands, Nicolas stared into the distance. “Yeah, well, I did it and I’m not sorry. But it didn’t make matters better. Our father kicked Stephan out, and said he should have died at birth. Stephan went wild. Begged my father for a second chance. Herefused.
“No one stood up for Stephan, not even his damn mother. They were too scared of the old man. I stood up for him and the old man beat mesenseless.”
Nicolas stroked the scare almost absently. “He gave me this so that every time I looked into the mirror, I would remember what a fool Iwas.”
