The Moon, the Madness, and the Magic (14 page)

“Yup. No one ever saw anything like it. We didn’t tell anyone where the samples came from, of course. It’s Dane’s pet project now. His was different than mine, but neither of ours tested entirely human.”

Both of them. Maybe that’s why she responded to Dane, too. Had destiny preordained both males for Celeste?
“I didn’t know about Dane. I don’t think anyone does. This could affect everything.”

Rourke’s laugh had an edge. “It doesn’t affect me.”

Dane’s human father had done the unforgivable—killed Rourke’s mother, stealing his life and his heritage from him. “I wonder—did Dane’s father claim a young shifter wife without knowing it? How had she concealed her gift from her husband?”

“Maybe she went visiting relatives once a month,” Rourke said with a note of sarcasm.

“Whether you believe me or not, this isn’t something you can deny. Running away won’t change anything, Rourke.”

“What makes you so sure I’ll shift?”

“Your mother, to start. Your dragon birthmark, the other. Your mother’s husband, Rafe, found the evidence of her murder—her body buried in the shallow grave. While he was searching for his family that evening, the forest fae revealed the gruesome details to him, and he told the Council. Then everyone kept your disappearance and your mother’s death a secret. No one told me why your mother wanted you hidden.

“For years, Rafe searched for you among the human towns nearby, but Grayland had hidden you and his family well within the mortal world. Rafe never did discover your whereabouts before his death this year. Sarah’s death and your abduction were concealed from everyone for all these years, but after his death, the world of the Others bordered on chaos, and the forest fae revealed the other secret to the Council. You were alive.

Next Beltane, when Aryan, the dragon-shifter, discovers Sarah and Rafe’s deaths, he’ll return. We will all only have the hope of the prophecy that says our leader will return. Aryan will go through the bloodlust again if he’s not stopped. He gets stronger with each kill.”

“Aryan is a dragon-shifter? Like a big, huge dragon?”

“Yes, according to legend, a killing machine. A dragon without conscience.” She nodded.

“How do you figure I fit in?”

“I don’t know how you fit in. Your whereabouts had only recently been discovered.” She touched his back over the spot where his birthmark was. “This must mean something.”

“What do you think I have to do with a dragon-shifter? Not that I’m going to be involved. I’m just curious. I’m really not the joiner type.”

“I’ve only recently been told of my part in all this.” She stopped mid-thought. “Let me see your back.”

“No problem, babe. I’ll show you mine if you show me yours, but the interesting stuff’s not on my back. Come a little closer—”

“Stop fooling around. Let me make something clear, Rourke. All the forest people believe the time of the prophecy is upon us. Our wolf prince will return. Some think that’s you. After what you just told me, I think it’s Dane. Whether you believe in this or not, the foretold return is imminent. All the signs point to a change. I was summoned here to fulfill the prophecy, and I believe so were you.”

She tapped his birthmark. “This is the sign of the dragon.”

“How so?”

“Rourke, before Beltane you’ll begin to shift. You may have already noticed your body practicing. But that night you will turn thirty and will come into your full powers. Shift—”

“Into a wolf?” He laughed.

“Yes, but you may start before then.” She nodded. “More than that, I think Aryan may have sired you. If he was your father, you may shift into the dragon. Now, with Dane in the mix, I’m not sure what all this means.”

“You think Dane will shift, too? He hasn’t had any of the same symptoms.”

“What symptoms?”

“I’ve been experiencing some signs of aggression. You already know about my sexual tastes. Biting, blood, and rough sex.”

She smirked.

“Don’t laugh. I’m getting worse daily.”

“Anything else?”

“My appetite. I want my red meat bloody, and I pass on most everything else lately.”

“Your eyes. Have they changed?”

“My eyes, my face, and my skin look different, and my throat burns and aches like hell from time to time.”

“I’ve never heard of those symptoms all occurring in one male. You must be miserable.”

“I’m cranky and frustrated, wishing I could run naked and wild. And there’s something else.”

“What?”

“I dream of flying, soaring over mountains and valleys.”

“Flying?” Celeste practically jumped off the ground. “Wolf-shifters don’t imagine flying. Eagle-shifters and avian-shifters do, but I’ve never heard of a wolf-shifter envisioning flying. A dragon might.”

“If that’s what you think I am, then this one does.”

“We don’t know what you’re capable of for sure until we find out who sired you. We know you are wolf because your mother was, and you are alpha because her father was the local pack leader until her mate took his place. She was already carrying you when Rafe claimed her, but he never revealed he wasn’t your biological father until his death. You say that you’re also something else according to your
DNA
tests. Could your father have been part human male?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. The tests showed human DNA, lupine, and something else that resembled reptile and avian
DNA
. I’m a mutt.”

“Reptile and avian? A dragon.”

“Aryan?” he asked.

She nodded.

“We exchanged blood, Rourke. Do you know what that means?”

“Whatever I am, so are you?” He grinned a big, toothy smile. “Does that work the other way, too? So am I a succubus?”

“Incubus. Males are called incubi,” she snapped back. “You’re really not taking this all seriously enough.”

His face went dark. “Oh, I’m taking all of this very seriously. Don’t get me wrong.”

“The Council of Others hopes you’ll take your rightful place in the Council and in the pack as leader, replacing your father.”

“He wasn’t my father. Did your Council think about that?”

“No, but your biological great-grandfather was the pack Congress leader in any case. He was the alpha wolf over every pack in the Southwest. You were conceived to lead.”

He laughed again. “Your Council couldn’t be more wrong about me. You know, you’re all in deep shit if you think I’m here to save your world.”

“It’s your world, too.”

Great! He seemed to be taking all this Lore stuff in stride, but wait until he found out he’d already instinctively united them to each other. All hell would break loose. That was a piece of information she intended to keep from him as long as she could. Hopefully fate wouldn’t tear them all apart.

“We need to find Dane and fill him in. Tell him about what he could be, the situation, how he might be involved,” she said.

“What’s the extent of your interest?”

“He could be in trouble. Other than that, I don’t know why I’m worried about him. What exactly are you asking?

“I’m asking you if you’re attracted to Dane.”

“Yes, I’m attracted to Dane. I can’t deny that I feel more than just platonic concern for him. Honestly, I don’t understand my feelings. The connection I have to you both confuses me. I somehow feel his needs, his desire, and his emotions when I’m with you. It’s as if he completes us.”

Highly agitated by her answer, Rourke walked away and turned his back. “I won’t share you. The thing inside me won’t stand for it.”

“Okay, I understand, but it may be a matter of life or death for Dane. It also may be a matter of life or death for us.”

He rubbed his eyes. “I can’t think straight. My vision is off. Something’s happening.”

Celeste searched the sky. The moon began to rise low on the eastern horizon. Early. The sun wasn’t even close to setting yet. “You might already be experiencing the effects of the moon. We don’t have much time before you shift. Anything could set it off now. Fear, anger, any deep emotion.”

“Jealousy?”

“Yes. Are you feeling—?”

“The beast inside me is. Dane and I are used to sharing women, but apparently this guy inside me has other ideas. He’s very possessive. Every time the subject comes up, I want to kill someone and fuck you brainless until you can’t think about another man touching you.”

“Rourke, it’s not like that. You satisfy me completely, but Dane feels like a part of us.”

“No, you can’t be with him. I can’t risk hurting him. You have to promise me you’ll stay away from other men for now, especially Dane.” He grew thoughtful. “Especially him, at least until I get this…this beast inside me under control.”

“I can’t promise what I’ll do. I’m new at this, too. It’s not in my nature.”

“Which nature?”

“You know what I am. I’m a shifter, a wolf, but I am also a fae and a succubus. Nothing about any of my natures rings monogamous. Unless my bond mate claims me for all times, I will be as promiscuous as my nature deems. I won’t be able to stop myself. I will have to fuck or die.”

“You were a virgin?”

“This is the time of
my
rising
,
too. Like you, I’m experiencing some of my changes for the first time. Unlike you, I’ve been raised in the Lore and trained for all this. I’ve been undergoing transition for years in preparation for…you.” She tapped back her thoughts.
My bond mate.

“Me, specifically?”

“No.” Celeste smiled. “Someone.
The
one.”

Rourke growled, the jealousy rising in him again. “Me. No one else. Not Dane. Promise!”

“I told you, I can’t. I’m not sure what we’re meant to be to each other or what we’re meant to do. But I’ll find out and protect him. I won’t let anything happen to him.”

She reached up and cupped his hard jaw in her hands. “Rourke, I won’t let you hurt him. I can promise you that.”

His gaze rolled down her body. “Thanks for the thought, but under the circumstances, you won’t blame me for still worrying. You wouldn’t be much of a challenge if I wanted to overpower you, so you’d hardly be a match for what’s inside me. Especially if it’s the dragon.”

“Don’t worry, I can handle myself. I may look slight, but my powers are growing as Beltane approaches.”

“What powers, little girl?”

“What? You need a demonstration? That’s ridiculous. I don’t want to flex my muscles for you.”

“Humor me. Show me the power, so I feel relieved.”

Celeste didn’t have all the control over her powers she’d hoped for yet. This demonstration was foolish. But she needed Rourke to understand she’d keep Dane safe. “Okay.”

She let the power fill her. The glamour intensified, and her mind control wrapped around Rourke’s thoughts, bringing him to his knees. She trapped his mind and took over, instilling visions of wolves and vampires shifting, of dragons flying overhead, of feline shifters and Weres. As they threatened to attack him, she mentally stepped in front of him, guarding him, blocking the danger from him. Even in the illusion, she felt his anger rage at her. How dare she put herself in harm’s way for him! How dare his
bond mate
risk her life for him!

The illusion dissipated into mist around them. Celeste saw the realization in Rourke’s eyes. She didn’t need to access his thoughts to sense the rage he felt at her betrayal.

“You bound us?” He ground out the question.

“No.”

“What do you mean
no?
We are bound, aren’t we?”

“Yes.
You
bound us that first time without realizing it.”

“Me? I did this? Why didn’t you stop me? Why didn’t you say something?”

“Ah, I was a little preoccupied at the time. Remember? Virgin, here. I hardly expected
that
of all things from you. What could I say when the deed was already done? Believe me, I was as shocked and confused then as you are now. You think I want to be bound to someone who doesn’t want me?”

“Oh, no problem there. That is the problem. I do want you. More than I should. More than I think I would if I hadn’t been influenced by…what? What exactly did you do to me?”

“Right, Mr. Tactful. I did something to you? That’s just the kind of sweet talking a woman wants to hear. ‘You hexed me. I don’t want to want you.’ Well, I don’t want to be the one fate dumped on you, either. How do you like that?”

“I don’t like it at all. So we’re even.”

“Right! Each stuck with someone we don’t know if we really want, forever, like it or not.”

He staggered in place as if he’d been hit by a two-by-four.

Celeste knew the outcome of this argument was inevitable. She moved toward him. With the pale moon rising behind him and fury radiating off him, she knew the adrenaline pumping through him would start his change.

“I’m sick.” He held out his hand and pushed her away.

Rourke furred up, his expression darkening and his body growing larger.