Stephanie Julian - Shades of Moonlight

Lia continued to sit in the corner, her mouth set in a perpetual scowl.

Making sure no one could see her hands, Mara signed, “Do you think he’ll come?”

Cat’s smile naturalized, became softer. “Yes. I think he will.”

Wouldn’t that be nice to believe? A man who would do something for her just because she asked.

Then she sighed. Silently of course. “I wish…” Her hands stilled. “Why would he?”

Cat’s smile disappeared. “Why don’t you let me ask him? Every now and then we all need someone big and strong to lean on and Race definitely fills that requirement.”

Yes, he certainly did. He stood inches over six feet and had to weigh at least two-twenty. He was built like the men Ettore had employed to kill whoever crossed him. And Race looked even more dangerous.

When he wasn’t in his pelt, roaming the forests and fields surrounding this community as a huge gray wolf, he dressed in faded jeans, black boots, black t-shirts or black hooded sweatshirts. He shaved his dark-brown hair down until only the slightest fuzz remained. She’d often wanted to rub her hand over it, see if it felt prickly against her skin. Or soft.

He never smiled but she never felt afraid of him. She only felt safe.

She needed that now. Needed that big, strong man who had been by her side almost constantly since Kaisie had brought her here.

Mara looked at Cat and nodded.

Cat smiled. “I’ll be right back.”

Race Aragon had been prowling the grounds outside Mara’s house for hours, watching the streghe arrive, knowing what they were going to attempt.

He wanted to be in there with her.

Ridiculous but true. And so not happening.

With a huff, he sat on his haunches and stared at the little house Mara shared with her son and, more often than not, with her cousin Lia. He was glad the two girls had each other. The deep well of hurt in Mara tempered the bitter anger burning in Lia.

He understood the anger. The hurt made him want to kill Ettore Marrucini all over again. Slowly and much more painfully.

Then maybe Mara wouldn’t be as sad. Maybe then she could move on and… What?

Well, he knew where he wanted her to move to. And it wasn’t away from here.

Since he’d been a kid and realized pretty early on he wasn’t built for the life his parents had expected of him, Race had sworn never to lie to himself or anyone else.

He was a soldier. His body was built for it, his brain wired for it, and he made no excuses for it.

His parents and brother were happy living in their cozy little world of numbers and money outside of Philadelphia, where getting your hands dirty meant something a lot different than Race’s definition.

Logically, his family understood the need for soldiers. The lucani had been under attack for more than a millennium. They needed protection. His parents had just never expected one of their sons to become a soldier.

He’d never doubted their love for him but they didn’t understand him. Sometimes he thought they were frightened of him instead of for him.

He knew he looked scary. The shaved head, the tats, the face only a mother could love.

But…Mara never seemed afraid of him. He’d seen the anxiety in her eyes around several of the other male lucani who guarded her and her son. But never when she looked at him.

Her reaction made no sense but Race wanted to beat his chest in victory anyway. What he’d actually won remained a mystery since she couldn’t talk and he couldn’t completely understand sign language.

He’d tried. He’d picked up a few basic phrases but he wasn’t good enough yet to hold a conversation. And he wasn’t sure what they’d talk about anyway. So the fact that he was sitting outside her house in his pelt overthinking everything was kind of pitiful.

Okay, not kind of. It was fucking pitiful.

And, yeah, he’d volunteered.

He was just about to make another run around the perimeter of the house when Cat stepped out onto the porch.

His wolf sensed the power the girl now held inside her. The power of the Goddess of the Moon. That power called to his wolf without any effort on her part.

She wanted him to come to her and he obeyed without thought, loping up to the porch. She didn’t seem worried or scared so he didn’t think Mara was in any danger.

When he reached the porch and butted his head against the girl’s leg, she reached for him, a smile on her face, and ran her hand along his fur. If he stood on his back legs in this form he’d be taller than she was. Grown men had been known to wet themselves when they saw him coming for their asses.

“Hello, Race. I need you to shift and come inside. Mara would like you to be with her while the witches attempt to break the spell.”

If he’d been in his skin, his mouth would’ve hung open in shock. Instead he growled and shook his head, which made Cat’s smile widen.

“Don’t try that with me, Race. You and I both know you want to so just get the clothes you have stashed on the side of the house and come inside. And don’t worry. Ty is out there. He’ll stand guard.”

How the hell did she know what he wanted? Had he given his feelings away somehow?

Well, that was a stupid question. She was a goddess now, even if she hadn’t started out as one. She was the lucani ’s very own goddess so of course she had a special affinity to them.

And how the hell did she know Tivr, God of the Moon, was here? Race didn’t sense—

A sleek gray wolf trotted out of the forest, stopping at the tree line. Beside him, Cat stiffened but she never lost her smile.

“Go on, Race. I need to talk to Ty.”

She sounded as if he’d asked a question. And maybe he had unintentionally or maybe she’d just read his mind. He knew there was tension between the young fledgling goddess and Tivr. Hell, everyone knew there was tension between the two but no one knew what to do about it. That didn’t mean they didn’t notice. And worry.

But Mara wanted him inside so that was where he needed to be.

He raced around the side of the building, skidding to a stop, his shift already in process. In the span of a few seconds, he’d traded his pelt for his skin, embracing the few milliseconds of pain that set his teeth on edge before he pulled his jeans up his legs.

He was still tugging his shirt down to cover his stomach when he reached for the doorknob. Taking a deep breath, he pushed through and into the house.

And froze when all eight women in the room turned to stare at him.

Grace and Lia smiled at him, looking so much alike he did a quick double take. Cat’s mom Margie smiled too. The three older streghe gave him a cursory glance then returned to their discussion at the table, completely ignoring him.

Finally, sitting on the small couch by the window, he found Mara.

Her body a stiff line of tension, she stared at him through wide, dark eyes, her face pale. She looked terrified.

He didn’t realize he’d closed the gap between them until he stood in front of her. He clenched his hands at his sides so he didn’t grab her and crush her against him, like a child with a toy. She wasn’t a toy. She was a terrified young woman who looked at him as if he could make some of this a little better.

So he would. He’d figure the rest out later.

He knew she could read lips well but he didn’t want their conversation to be overheard. So he raised his hands to chest level and signed, “You okay?”

Her gaze flashed back to his after watching his hands and she attempted a smile as she nodded. Then her gaze slipped away as if she were shy. Or didn’t know what to say.

Well, that made two of them.