Moon Vowed (Mirror Lake Wolves Book 8) Read online

  “Okay, sure.”

  If that’s what she wanted, then that was what we’d do.

  “Really? You’re going to be that flippant about it.”

  Her words jarred me.

  “I’m not being flippant. I said I don’t care when we get married. If you want to get married on the twenty-ninth, then let’s do it.” I pulled her into me and bent to kiss the crown of her head. “I just want to marry you, Mina, that’s all.”

  She nuzzled her head against my chest.

  “I just want to marry you too.”

  Hearing her say the words caused a shiver of satisfaction to slither through me. Those words would never get old. Also, I couldn’t wait to hear her say she was my wife. Mina Vargas had a great ring to it.

  She untangled herself from me and scooped up Moonshine before starting up the steps of Gran’s trailer. Winston barked inside at the sound. When she opened the door, he jumped up on her in excitement, and Moonshine whimpered to be let down so she could say hello to him.

  “Don’t let him out!” Gracie shouted from somewhere down the hall. “I just gave him a bath. He rolled in something rotten on the side of the trailer earlier.”

  I closed the door behind me and moved to pet Winston when he jumped up on me next. His fur was damp but not sopping wet.

  “Nice,” Mina said. She set Moonshine on the floor, and we all watched as the two began to chase one another in play. Afterward, Mina stepped to where her dad sat on the couch. “Hey, Dad.”

  She gave him a hug and then moved to the kitchen where her mom and Gran were.

  “Eli,” Bill greeted me with a slight nod of his head. It was still odd seeing him without a slew of beer bottles scattered in front of him and a cane somewhere close. Mina’s mom coming back had saved him. Anyone could see it. “How are you?”

  “I’m good, and yourself?”

  I was his alpha, yes, but that didn’t go far when I was at his home for Sunday dinner. During moments like this, I was simply the guy his daughter had imprinted with and now would soon marry. Even if he didn’t know about the engagement yet.

  Mina’s mom stepped to where I was and pulled me in for a hug. “How are you? Did y’all get your tree up and decorated?”

  “I’m good. And yeah, we did.” I chuckled, remembering the mooning Santa, and glanced in the kitchen. “Thanks for the Santa, by the way,” I said to Gran.

  “Oh my God, she finally gave it away!” Gracie shouted. “I can’t believe I didn’t notice it was missing when we decorated last night.”

  “Mooning Santa?” Mina’s mom asked. “You mean, you still have that thing after all these years?”

  “I did,” Gran said. A smirk twisted the corners of her lips.

  “I loved that thing.” Bill laughed. “She used to make the kids kiss his butt every year when they were little. She said it was so they’d be sure to get the best gifts from him. They bought it for so many years!”

  “It wasn’t funny.” Gracie puffed up. “I remember crying my eyes out one Christmas because I forgot to kiss Santa’s butt, and I was worried I wouldn’t have any gifts under the tree in the morning.”

  “I remember that year,” Mina said. “I was so mad at you because I couldn’t sleep. Why didn’t you get out of bed and go do it?”

  “Because I was too scared. Gran said, if you got caught by Santa being out of bed, he would put you on the naughty list for the next year.” Gracie narrowed her eyes at Gran. “You were so mean.”

  The old woman shrugged and then moved to the stove to stir something. “I had to keep you girls in line somehow. Some of my ways were more creative than others.”

  “I’d say.” Bill laughed.

  Mina unhooked Moonshine from her leash and then crossed the trailer to sit beside her dad on the couch.

  “You seem to be doing even better than before,” Mina said to him. “I thought you said the cold weather was getting to your lower back again?”

  “It was, but your mom and Gran have me taking a new herbal concoction they created. It’s a capsule this time instead of a cream and seems to last longer. I worried they might be poisonin’ me at first, but after I took the first pill without dyin’, I figured they must be telling the truth when they said they were only tryin’ to help.”

  “And it has helped,” Angela said. She moved to where the two of them were, and I situated myself in one of the chairs at the dining room table to get out of everyone’s way. “It’s made from a few herbs mixed together. Some of them we bought online because they’re out of season here, but Gran says once spring hits, she’s going to plant them in her garden to save some money.”

  “My garden will be doubling in size this year,” Gran said. “Finally.”

  “How did you manage that?” Mina asked. “I thought Bobby was firm on property lines.”

  I was curious to know the answer to this too. Bobby was a decent guy to rent from, but he was a stick in the mud when it came to certain things. Property lines of the trailers were one of them.

  Gran wiped her hands on a dishtowel. “He was. Unfortunately for him, Sabin isn’t. Since he’s moved into the trailer behind us and sees how much good my remedies do for the pack, he decided to let me have a garden in his yard too. Bobby can kiss my ass.”

  A wide smile spread across my face at the sound of Gran cussing. It wasn’t something I’d heard before. From the look on Mina’s face, it wasn’t something she’d heard before either.

  “Don’t look so surprised, everyone. This old woman knows how to cuss. So what? It ain’t like I’ve never heard any of you utter those words under your breath before.” Gran’s full attention shifted to me. I sat up straighter and the smirk on my face disappeared, fearing the old woman was about to tear into me because of my foul mouth. “When’s your mama gonna be here with the boys?”

  “I imagine they should be here soon.” I cleared my throat.

  “Good. Put that coffee table in the back bedroom and bring out the fold-up chairs,” Gran insisted to no one in particular.

  We all stood though. Well, everyone except Gracie. She remained where she was on the floor, playing with Winston and Moonshine.

  “That includes you too, little miss,” Gran said without looking at her. She was the definition of someone with eyes in the back of her head. “Oh, and everyone, wish Mina and Eli congratulations.”

  I arched a brow. Yup, the woman was observant as hell.

  My gaze drifted to Mina. I grinned, wishing we’d set some sort of wager with our guessing game, because I’d just won. Irritation sharpened her eyes, but a smirk still found its way to her lips.

  “Why?” Angela asked. Her eyes widened as they swept over me then Mina. “Are you expecting?”

  “I'm going to be an aunt!” Gracie shouted. She jumped up from the floor, scaring the dogs. They darted down the hall. “Eeeek! I can’t believe I’m going to be an aunt!”

  “No. Just...no.” Mina held up a hand. She removed herself from her mom’s grip and took a step back. Her left hand flew out in front of her, and she flashed the ring I’d given her for everyone to see. “Totally not pregnant. We’re getting married. That’s what the congratulations are for.”

  Everyone reacted differently to the news. Angela deflated as though the excitement of being a grandmother outweighed that of a wedding. Gracie had a similar reaction. And Bill seemed relieved.

  I didn’t take anyone’s reaction personally. Neither did Mina. She just seemed excited to finally have told someone.

  “That ring is beautiful,” Angela said after the disappointment of not being a grandma faded fully. She gently clasped Mina’s hand in her own and gazed at the ring. “I love that shade of green. Oh, honey. I’m so happy for the two of you.” She hugged Mina and then stepped to where I was and pulled me into a hug as well.

  A knock sounded at the front door. I knew it was my mom and the boys. I could feel their presence.

  “Come in,” Gran shouted from where she stood at the stove, stirring somethin
g.

  “Hey, everyone,” Tate said as he made his way through the door first. His eyes landed on Angela hugging me. “What’s going on?”

  “They’re getting married,” Gracie said before anyone else could.

  Tate locked eyes with me. “Finally popped the question, huh, big bro?”

  “I did.”

  A sense of pride hummed through my veins.

  “Awesome. So, do I get to be in charge of the bachelor party? Cuz I’ve got some pretty sick ideas already brewing.”

  “You’re not even old enough for some of the ideas I’m sure you’re thinking of,” I said. “Besides, we don’t know if we’re even having bachelor and bachelorette parties. We haven’t discussed it yet.”

  I shifted my attention to Mina, thinking she would indicate if we were doing the whole thing, but she wasn’t paying attention to Tate and me. She was talking to her mom.

  “You’re getting married?” my youngest brother Jonas asked.

  “Yeah. I am.”

  His entire face lit up with his smile, and I realized at some point over the last couple of days he’d lost another tooth. That was the second one this month. Man, he was growing so fast. It sucked my dad wasn’t here to see.

  “Good. I like you and Mina together. You just work.” He lifted his arms into a shrug that was cute as could be.

  I laughed and pulled him in for a hug, then ruffled his hair. He shoved me away, ready to play with the dogs.

  “I knew she’d love the ring,” Mom said.

  “Thanks for letting me use it.”

  “Your dad would be happy that you did. It was the ring he proposed to me with,” she surprised me by saying.

  Why hadn’t she told me earlier? When I glanced at her, I noticed tears in her eyes and figured it was probably too hard.

  “When we got married, he bought me something that matched my wedding band, thinking it mattered, but it didn’t. I would’ve been happy to wear that ring and nothing else because it came from him.”

  Her words hit me hard. The ring meant so much more to me now that I knew the story behind it.

  “Congratulations,” Micah said. He hugged me, and I swore he’d grown taller in the last few days. Jonas had lost another tooth. Micah had grown taller. I couldn’t believe how fast time was marching on.

  “Thanks, little buddy.”

  “Yeah, congrats,” Cooper said.

  My brothers moved to hug and congratulate Mina next. Warmth spread through my chest. The trailer was abuzz with excitement for the wedding and happiness.

  This was bliss.

  Only one person was missing. Even so, I imagined he was here with us, soaking in the excitement and feeling proud of me. For a brief moment, I swore I could feel his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it like he used to. I exhaled a slow breath and closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation, the memory.

  5

  After dinner, Mina and I made our way back to our place in good spirits. Gran’s food had been fabulous, as always, and hanging with family was nice. Details for the wedding had been hashed out between the women in both families, and Tate swore a bachelor party was happening.

  “That went well but I’m exhausted,” Mina said. She rubbed her cheeks. “Man, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much. All I want to do is take a long, hot bath and go to bed early.”

  “Can I join you?”

  “For a bath or in going to bed early?”

  “Both.”

  She shook her head and grinned. “Don’t make me smile. I already told you my cheeks hurt. And, no. You can’t join me in the bath. There’s only enough room for one.”

  “I’m sure I could squeeze in with you.” I flashed her a sly look. “As a matter of fact, I can guarantee it.”

  “Sorry, but no. I’m taking one alone.”

  As we neared the trailer, I spotted Glenn pacing behind my truck. His head was down, and he was chewing on his thumbnail. He was nervous. Maybe even a little scared. The emotions rippled off him in waves, sending my wolf into high alert. He hated seeing a member of the pack in distress.

  “Why don’t you take Moonshine and head inside.” I passed her Moonshine’s leash. “I’ll see what Glenn needs, see if he and Taryn are okay. I’ll be just a minute.”

  “Okay.”

  Mina said hi to Glenn as she started up the steps of our trailer. He nodded to her in response but didn’t speak. He was clearly freaked out about something. My mind dipped to what I’d thought I saw in the woods, and the feeling of someone sinister watching Mina and me. Could whatever was bothering Glenn be connected?

  “Hey, Glenn. What’s up?”

  He lifted his gaze from the gravel of my driveway. The exterior light near my front door cast shadows around us, but I could still see how dilated his pupils were. Glenn was beyond freaked out—he was straight up paranoid.

  How long had he been waiting for me out here?

  “Hey. I need to talk to you.” He took a step closer to me, leaving mere inches between us and bent his head. “I think I saw something earlier. It’s got me thinking crazy shit. I had to say something to you.”

  My stomach rolled. A part of me knew whatever he was about to say was going to correlate with what I thought I’d seen in the woods. Something was going on. I could feel it. The energy in the air couldn’t be ignored.

  “Okay. Tell me what you think you saw. Tell me what’s going on.” I folded my arms over my chest, bracing myself for whatever he was about to say.

  “I know how crazy this is going to sound, but I swear to you I saw Regina.” His voice shook when he spoke, but his eyes never wavered from mine.

  He wasn’t lying about thinking he saw the woman who’d been responsible for taking members of our pack earlier in the year. We’d taken her and her operation in the city down, but here he was swearing to me he had seen her.

  “Where did you see her?” I asked.

  I didn’t deny the possibility, because Regina had red hair—I remembered that much about her looks—which meant she could have been who I’d spotted in the woods.

  The problem with that—she was dead. Mina had given her enough of the drug she’d been creating with our pack members’ blood to make her overdose, and to be sure she was gone, I’d rammed a metal pole through her heart. Both Mina and I had watched her turn to ash.

  She was gone. So then how was it both Glenn and I thought we’d seen her?

  “Over there.” Glenn pointed to the metal steps of his tiny trailer. “She was right there, sitting on my steps, when I came home from work tonight. Her legs were crossed, and she was picking at her fingernails like she used to.” He ran both hands through his hair and exhaled a long breath. “I know how crazy this sounds, but I swear to you, I’m telling the truth. I saw Regina tonight. She was on the stairs one minute and gone the next.”

  “What do you mean gone the next? As in she used her vampire speed?”

  “No, as in vanished. She flickered out of existence. Disappeared.”

  My wolf growled inside me. I struggled to calm him. He didn’t like the sound of this any more than I did.

  “I believe you,” I insisted.

  “It was the craziest thing. She was there one minute on the steps, picking at her nails. She looked up at me, smirked, and then disappeared.” He licked his lips and shifted where he stood. “I got out of my truck, thinking she’d headed inside to hurt Taryn, but when I opened the front door, Taryn was on the couch with her feet propped up, watching TV and eating carrots. Regina wasn’t there. I circled the trailer but didn’t see her again. I could smell her perfume though. I’d never forget that scent as long as I live. It’s cheap smelling and too strong.”

  How was she back? Why? My mind filled with questions I had no answers to.

  I could feel Glenn’s eyes on me. He was waiting for me to speak, to say something that would lead him to believe I could handle the situation. He was waiting on me to be an alpha.

  “I’ll check with the Caraways and the Montevallos to see if
they’ve noticed anything strange lately. In the meantime, I think it would be best if you kept what you saw to yourself. I don’t want the others to freak out until I get a better grip on what’s going on here, and I know you don’t want to upset Taryn.”

  “Okay, so what do you want me to do besides keep this to myself? I want to help.” Determination filled his eyes. “I’m the one who saw her, the one she was taunting.”

  “You’re not the only one,” I admitted.

  “What do you mean? Who else saw her?”

  “Last night, when I was in the woods with Mina, I felt someone watching us. Someone or something sinister.” I paused, taking a second to line up my next words. Glenn was already worked up enough; he didn’t need me fueling what he was feeling, but if he was going to help, then he needed to know all the pieces to the situation. “When we were leaving the woods, I thought I saw someone with long red hair darting between the trees.”

  “And now you think it might have been Regina?” Glenn lifted his arms and locked his fingers behind his head. Another long exhale pushed from his lungs. “This is so screwed up. If she’s back, how do we fight her this time? I mean, how the hell do you fight a ghost?”

  “I’m not sure, but I’ll figure something out. I need to make some calls.”

  The door to Glenn’s trailer opened and Taryn poked her head out. “Glenn? It’s freezing out, babe. Aren’t you coming inside soon?” Her eyes moved to me. “Hey, Eli. Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, everything’s fine. Just chatting for a bit,” Glenn answered for me. He flashed her a smile that looked damn near convincing. “I’m coming. It is cold out tonight.”

  “How have you been feeling?” I asked her, feeling as though I should say something.

  She pushed the door open farther so I could see her baby bump. It had grown exponentially in the last few months.

  “I’m huge as a damn whale but good. Healthy. Or so they say. I’m not sure what’s so healthy about gaining thirty-seven pounds but whatever. I’m no doctor.”