Chapter Eighteen

Alex sighed as he pushed back from the computer screen. The modules he’d created for the clan weren’t panning out. There was no explanation he could find for the sudden rise in the pairings the markings were putting together or the sudden increase in pregnancies among the women.

The door to the lab opened and Sabine sauntered in with a wide smile. He still couldn’t believe she was his, and with each passing day in the last three months he grew to love her more. He and Dante had come to an understanding of sorts and they bonded as they looked over the old texts and taught the clan about the old ways.

“What’s got you smiling like that?” he asked.

Sabine leaned over and kissed him deeply as she slid into his lap and turned off his computer’s monitor. “You are going to love me.”

“I already do.”

“Come show me,” she said with a wiggle of her brows.

“I can’t, I still have work to do.”

“What if I told you I had the answers to the questions you’re researching?”

“I’d say I reeeeeally love you.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck. “I was shopping online for our trip when I came across an article about a serial murderer in the States.”

“And?”

“Well, it seems that this person they’ve named The Mangler began his … or her trail of carnage in San Francisco and has gradually been working their way east.”

“Wait. There have been more murders?”

“Yes, each one has been the same. Which is why they believe it’s the same person. Personally, I think it’s a rogue.”

“So it wasn’t me.”

She leaned in and kissed his lips tenderly. “No. You must have linked with him in your sleep and saw it, but you didn’t commit those murders.”

Alex’s head dropped back and he stared at the ceiling. “Thank The Chosen.”

“There’s another thing.” She leaned in against the exposed expanse of his neck.

“What’s that?”

Sabine raised her head. “I’ve been reading the journals from some of the original clan.”

Not able to resist her for long, he began kissing her. “And?” he murmured against her skin.

“Remember that flash of light that happened when we made love the night of the battle?”

Alex lifted his head. “Yes?”

“Well, it seems that was a blessing. A fertility blessing. Thrust—for lack of a better word—upon a couple chosen by Saytori.”

“Us?”

“Yes, us. So as long as we are together the clan will be fruitful. It also seems to have reset some of the markings. There are couples becoming mated where there was no match before. Of course, there have been some changes in how they react, but it’s nothing we can’t track. Oh, and lastly, you can expect to age more slowly.”

Alex frowned. “Are you serious?”

“I’ll show you the texts if you’d like to see them.”

“No, I trust you.” He rose with her in his arms and carried her to the door.

She settled into his hold and ran her hand through the soft hair at his nape. “So have you told anyone yet?”

“About what?” He opened the door.

“That we’re planning a trip to Scotland to search for the Blood Moon Clan?”

“No. No one knows yet. I’d like to get more details about their ancestral home before we tell Dante.”

“You’re such a scientist, always researching. So where are you taking me now?”

“We’ve got a duty to the clan … and my workload has suddenly lightened considerably, so this scientist is taking the rest of the day off to be with his mate.”

“Oh, I do like the sound of that,” she said and kissed him.

* * * *

Rhiannon threw her purse across the room. It hit the far wall, falling in a heap, her address book and wallet spilling out. Of all the idiotic things to do, getting involved with an asshole psychiatrist with a bi-polar ex-wife had got to rank right up there with the stupidest things she’d ever done in her life.

She fell back on her soft white leather couch and let her head fall back. Her cell phone rang again. Pink’s So What blaring in the harsh silence of the room. Peter … again. Trying to call and apologize for sucking face and probably more with his ex. Why couldn’t men see crazy when it was right in front of them? Especially when crazy was more manipulative than sick. The ass had the nerve to question her faithfulness because she’d been worried about Alex. Hello? He was her best friend and he’d been missing for months. Months! If she ever saw him again she would kill him with her bare hands. She closed her eyes and prayed that day would come. She would give anything to see him just one more time.

She growled as she sat up. First item of business would be changing her ringtone to Beyonce’s All the Single Ladies. After that, she would go and hire the private investigator she’d found. She needed to find Alex soon or she just might wind up in the padded cell Peter’s ex belonged in.

She walked over to the pile of mail on the small table by her front door and looked for the pad of paper she’d written the PI’s number on. A strange envelope caught her attention. Hidden beneath her gas and cable bill was a yellowed piece of parchment paper. She pulled it out from the pile and racked her brain trying to remember where she’d seen one before when she suddenly remembered. It matched the one that slipped out of Alex’s newspaper the morning he’d decided to go to Italy.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she examined it. A part of her warned her not to open it, to discard it. Nothing good came from the last one, but the other half of her, the adventurous side, screamed “tear it open!”

It was that part she listened to as she ran her finger under the flap and popped the envelope open. She pulled out the small index card-sized note and read the elaborate script in disbelief. Only ten words, but in her heart she knew these ten words would change her life forever.

To find Alex you must go to Tapaire Castle, Scotland.

There was no signature.

Rhiannon made her decision almost as instantly as Alex had all those months ago. This is what she needed, a sabbatical, a chance to go to Scotland, to get away from Peter and her life here. To visit her favorite place in the world and do field research while she searched for her friend. First, though, she would contact the PI and find out what she could about this castle and how it was related to the Apennine Mountains in Italy. Maybe, she thought hopefully, this would give her a clue as to what happened to Alex. Rhiannon smiled. She loved a good adventure.

* * * *

Outside Rhiannon’s apartment, Saytori smiled as she gazed upon the open window of the human woman’s apartment. She stood invisible to human eyes, flanked by the three other members of The Chosen’s guardian council.

“So it has begun,” Eldym said.

“It has,” she agreed.

“Have we done the right thing?” Ainai asked. “To put this woman on this path?”

“She is no normal human, little one.” Saytori turned to Rhokal whose silver gaze was centered on the window above them. “What do you see?”

“The future is too cloudy. We must have faith that those we have chosen will triumph.”

“So, we shall watch … and wait.”

The End

About the Author:

Amanda Jayde has been telling stories for years, only she never let anyone read any of them until recently. Urged on by one of her close friends, she entered an erotic story competition sponsored by Romantic Times Magazine and much to her surprise she became a finalist and her dream of becoming published was born.

She left her hometown of The Bronx, NY to move to a decidedly warmer climate and slower lifestyle in a small town in Florida. She usually has one story completed one in various stages of completion and one or two in her head and when she’s not writing you can find her curled up with a book.

Amanda is very excited to have realized her dream with her debut novel Dark Moon Rising, published by Liquid Silver Books.