Blue Moon Magic 3: Never in a Blue Moon Read online

  “Hurry, Clarity,” Tom called, as she stumbled.

  When she made no reply, Tom turned back and hurried to her side. As he scooped her into his arms, Connor’s voice sounded in her mind.

  Don’t forget what I’ve told you about capac root. It will counteract the poison that Kill released into your body.

  “Capac root,” she whispered. With her strength failing, she prayed Tom would hear her. She hadn’t thought about the effect of the poison on her body by going forward five years.

  * * * * *

  The closer they got to the entrance to the time warp, the further Clarity slipped away from him. Her dead weight told Tom she’d lost consciousness. Her last words echoed in his mind, even though capac root meant nothing to him.

  As they stepped into the time period they’d left just over an hour ago, the first rays of dawn were streaking the eastern sky. Before he stumbled into the arms of his father, Lucas took Clarity from him.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Charles demanded.

  “Kill poisoned her with his claws. Coming forward worked to accelerate the effects of it on her body. Does capac root mean anything to you?”

  Lucas handed Clarity to Justin. “I know exactly what it is. The healers in Rowan’s den use it to ward off infection after the males have been fighting. I can find it, but you need to get Clarity back to the bunker and bring in a doctor. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  Charles started to protest, but Justin silenced him. “Lucas is right. Look at the wounds on her breast. They’ve begun to fester. We need to get her help as soon as possible.”

  Tom watched as Justin, Charles, and Clarity dematerialized. At a loss, and feeling totally useless, he allowed his family to help them teleport to the bunker. Before he completely disappeared, he saw Lucas morph into a wolf and move deeper into the forest.

  No sooner had Lucas disappeared than Tom found himself in the Langford & Langford bunker. Chas, Char, and Joanna waited for him with the others and a man Tom assumed was the doctor.

  Clarity lay on a bed in the far corner. A sheet covered her from the waist down, leaving her breasts exposed. The sight of the purple rose made his mating mark heat up in response. In contrast, the wounds on her left breast were ugly, red and oozing puss.

  “Is she…?” Tom asked, unable to put voice to his innermost fears.

  “I’ve given her something for sleep. Charles tells me Lucas is searching for capac root. It’s an ancient herb. Luckily I took a course on ancient medicines in college. It’s something that was used as a successful cure for poison. Of course, modern medicine allowed the old ways to go by the wayside. It’s a real shame. Thank goodness, Lucas knows where to get it. If we would have known about it, we might have been able to save Lucas’s mother years of pain.”

  Tom cringed. Over the past few hours he’d heard of the two raids on the compound of Lucas’s parents. When Rowan had raped Lucas’ mother, he had marked her in the same way Kill marked Clarity. At the time no one had known about capac root. She had been killed in the next raid before the poison had a chance to claim her, but she had indeed suffered.

  Chapter Seven

  The tension in the bunker was almost more than Tom could bear. Just the thought of the condition he’d found Clarity in made him sick. If he lived to be a hundred he would never forget the stench of rotted meat mixed with feces, urine, unwashed bodies, and sex. He wondered how Clarity had stood it.

  In his state of invisibility, he’d been able to study her body. Even in the dim light, he could see the deep gashes on her breast as well as the scratches on her stomach and legs. Even if Rowan and Kill hadn’t penetrated her, it was evident she’d been sexually assaulted.

  More than anything else, he wanted to hold her in his arms and tell her that it had all been a terrible nightmare, but he refused to lie to her. What she’d experienced had been real, so real that now her life was in danger. He prayed the herb he’d never heard of would be the right one to save her life.

  Tom knew he couldn’t do anything to help her, but he needed to be close by, in case she woke up and needed him. He had no idea how long he’d been holding her hand when the doctor returned to her side.

  “Lucas found the herb I need. I’ve prepared it. It’s best if you leave now. I need to start an IV and that’s not anything you need to watch.”

  “Will it help?”

  “It should kill the poison almost immediately. If it doesn’t, there’s plenty more of the capac root. Lucas gathered more than enough for what I need.”

  Tom got to his feet. The exhaustion manifested itself when he found he couldn’t stand on his own. Before Tom’s legs gave out on him, the doctor reached out his hand to steady him.” It’s best if you get some rest, son,” the doctor suggested. “With you being totally human, this entire process has been draining. We don’t need you sick, too.” He reached into his bag and handed a small packet to Tan. “Mix this with water and make certain he drinks it. It’s a sleeping powder and will work almost immediately.”

  Although unwilling to leave Clarity’s side, he reluctantly did as the doctor asked.

  Hours later, when he woke up he wandered back to where the others were gathered. To say he’d walked into a council of war was an understatement.

  “What’s going on?” he asked when he approached them.

  Lucas turned, the expression on his face one that made Tom’s blood run cold. “Rowan and Kill are getting ready to attack. They’re gathering their forces.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “You’re to stay here,” Travis replied. “Sit down, son. This fight is between the Betas and us. I know you’re as much an Elite as the rest of us, but a human doesn’t stand a chance out there. We need you here to guard the women and give comfort to Clarity.

  “But…”

  “But nothing, baby brother,” Tan said. “If anything happens to us, you’ll have to continue the line.”

  The gravity of the situation was sobering. Before Tom could comment further, two more men joined the group. He half listened as Lucas introduced his cousins Garth and Bran.

  One by one Tom watched as the men morphed in preparation to do battle. As he stood alone, he realized just how helpless he really was. He was Elite, but truly human. As such, he couldn’t even protect the woman he loved.

  * * * * *

  Clarity awoke to snarls, howls, and yelps assaulting her mind. Slowly she opened her eyes to see what was going on around her. To her surprise, she was alone in the room with Tom sitting by her side. If that was the case, where were the terrible sounds coming from?

  “Tom,” she said, when her eyes finally focused. “What’s going on?”

  “I’d hoped you wouldn’t be able to hear that. Our families are doing battle with the Betas.”

  “Because of me?”

  “Partly. From what I’ve learned, this has been brewing for a long time. Lucas says it goes back to before he was born.”

  “Yes, it does,” she heard her mother say. “There was a time when the Betas and the Elite lived together in peace. It was Rowan’s father who changed the balance of things. He was jealous of the wealth and prosperity of the Elites. Of course, before any of that happened, Rowan and Charles were friends. You know how it is with kids; they don’t care about such things. Rowan’s father saw things differently. Since we were more human than wolf, we could survive in the human world. We certainly didn’t have to hunt for our food and we had the respect of the entire human community. Since then it has been their plan to destroy us and take our wealth as their own. We have been able to hold them off in the past, but now there are three Blue Moon Princesses and the temptation is even worse than before.”

  Clarity knew Tom was bewildered by what her mother had just said. It was a story she’d heard often. Just hearing her mother talk about the Betas made Clarity remember the act that had brought about this fight.

  Without thinking, she put her hand to her breast. Instead of the expected pain, she
felt only the scabbing that would turn into a scar in time.

  “The poison?” she asked, squeezing Tom’s hand tightly.

  “I don’t know how you knew, but the capac root was the cure you needed. We were lucky your father’s physician knew how to use it and Lucas knew where to get it. You’ll never know how close we came to losing you.”

  Reversing the position of their hands, he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it, causing memories of their night of lovemaking that had given her the mating mark to come to the forefront.

  In the midst of the pleasant memory, another one clamored to be recognized. The terrible things Rowan and Kill had done to her were overshadowed by the voice of the man who called himself Connor. If it hadn’t been for him, she would have never known about capac root.

  “I knew about it because of Connor. He is a Beta who somehow could mentally connect with me. He told me about it. If you hadn’t come he was going to have Rowan’s healers come to give it to me.”

  “Did you say Connor?” her mother asked, her expression one of utter surprise and shock.

  “Yes, does it mean something to you?”

  Before her mother could respond, there was a commotion from the far end of the bunker.

  “We beat back those bastards,” Tym called as he rushed into the area where Clarity, her mother, her sisters, and Tom were gathered. “With all the reinforcements we brought in it wasn’t much of a fight. I think we gave them a worse beating than we got.”

  “Were there any casualties?” Joanna asked.

  “Pop got bit up, but the doc is taking care of him. Otherwise, the only one who even got scratched was Rem. Thank goodness Lucas brought along a lot of that capac root.”

  “Go to your father,” Clarity urged. “He needs you now, Tom. I’ll be just fine. But I am tired. I only want to sleep.”

  * * * * *

  Tom watched as the doctor treated his father. Around him those who had fought were covered in blood: the expressions on their faces were ones of victorious jubilation.

  “You should have been there, baby brother,” Tan said. “I’ve never seen a scruffier pack of Betas in my life. The Betas we know are at least civilized enough to bathe and keep themselves well groomed. I got a piece of one of them and the bastard was loaded with fleas. That, along with the stench of that den, will make me glad to get back home. I feel sorry for you and Clarity having to deal with Rowan and his pack.”

  “When will you learn to keep your mouth shut, Tan?” Tym asked. “Tom is committed to this family and so are we. Clarity is worth fighting for and, believe you me, we’ll be back to protect what is ours. Rowan won’t give up. He’s been raiding this family for too long to give up on the war because he’s lost one battle.”

  “I agree with Tym,” Justin said. “We just never know when he’ll strike. He knows we’ve rescued Clarity. That’s why he attacked us. It was the same when we rescued Lucas. Blood takes care of blood. Lucas and I are cousins, and as such we make a formidable adversary to Rowan. Until Tom and Clarity are married, we’ll go on with business as usual, but we’ll continue to guard them closely. Rowan has breeched our security in the past. I wouldn’t put it past him to do so again.”

  Around him the others were voicing their opinions about when or if Rowan would again attack. The thought of another battle with the Betas left a bad taste in Tom’s mouth. He knew about the Betas who inhabited his home territory. They were more of a nuisance than a threat.

  “You should have seen us, son,” Travis said as Tom sat down next to him. “It was a magnificent fight. I felt more like a young pup than a gray beard.”

  Tom looked intently at his father. The gaping wound on his chest was stitched together and looked red and ugly. An IV ran into his hand, pumping capac root into his body. His usually perfectly groomed hair looked disheveled. Even the lack of color in his face was disturbing. He looked pale and Tom knew it was from the blood loss combined with the poison.

  “I’m sure it was, Pop. Just seeing what they did to Clarity makes me hope and pray that our combined forces scared them off for a good long time.”

  As soon as he said the words, the medicine began to take hold, causing Travis to drift off to sleep. Whatever capac root was, it had to be a very potent herb.

  “We just opened the bar, Tom,” Charles called “Come and join us for a victory drink.”

  Tom got up and walked over to the well stocked bar at the far end of the room. He knew his brothers would be drinking tequila and his cousins would have vodka. He much preferred brandy. By the looks of Charles’s bar, none of them would be disappointed.

  Once the drinks were in hand, Charles came from behind the bar. “I propose a toast. To our victory over Rowan today. May we never have to have such a fight again.”

  “Hear, hear,” the combatants said in unison.

  Tom held his tongue. The war was far from over. With such a short time until the Blue Moon, both Clarity and he were in danger.

  “So when are you planning for the mating to take place?” Tym asked.

  “The Blue Moon is still twenty-three days away,” Charles replied. “We have to keep the two of them safe from Rowan until then.”

  “You were able to move time forward for Justin and me, Daddy,” Chas said. “Why can’t you do the same for Clari and Tom? As I recall, our mating was moved up because of the threat from the betas. I’d say this is certainly the same kind of emergency.”

  “Move time ahead?” Tom questioned. “Can you do that? If so, I’ll marry Clarity tonight if it will keep her safe from Rowan.”

  “It wasn’t me who was able to do that, I wish I did have the ability to move time, but that is something that was Rowan’s doing. The ability to move time is some kind of magic that is known only to his clan. Back then he thought perhaps he could stop the mating if he moved time. Of course, it didn’t happen. Believe me, if I could move it I would, and stop this constant bickering between the two of us.”

  From the far end of the bar, Lucas began to laugh. “Is that all you need? You forget I’m Rowan’s son. I had access to more things than Rowan ever knew I did. He thought he had me closed away from everything, but I had my sources. Bruno and I experimented with more than opening the time warp. As Alphas we had the power to become invisible and we used it to our advantage. I can move time forward as easily as Rowan can and he won’t even know it until Tom and Clari are married. Tell me when you want the Blue Moon to come and that’s when it will be.”

  Tom smiled. As much as he wanted his mother to witness his mating with Clarity, he knew the sooner they were one the safer she’d be. In no way did he want her in Rowan’s den again. They’d been lucky enough to rescue her once; another time they might not get her back.

  “We can have Mom here by tomorrow,” Tym said.

  “What about the kids?” Tom countered.

  “Aunt Sophie will be glad to take the little pups for a few days. We can call the compound and get Mom on the next flight out. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have the same powers as we do. The last time anyone tried to teleport her, she got so sick we almost lost her. Besides, the old man won’t be strong enough to go and bring her himself for a couple of days.”

  “Then it’s agreed,” Charles said. “The two of you will be mated by the Blue Moon tomorrow night.”

  Tom watched as Tym pulled out his cell phone and placed the call to the compound. To Tom’s surprise he could hear his mother’s response to Tym’s request to come to Langford & Langford on the first available flight. It pleased him to hear his mother’s excited reply. Not only would she see her human son mated, she would again be with her childhood friend.

  * * * * *

  Clarity awoke to the sound of celebration from the far end of the bunker. We’re going to be mated, Clarity. I know you can hear me, but it’s going to happen tomorrow night. I don’t understand it all, but somehow Lucas is going to move time forward. After that you will be mine for all time. I promise nothing or no one will ever harm you
again.

  She smiled at the sound of Tom’s voice in her mind. Could it be that she would never have to worry about Rowan again? She prayed it was so.

  Can you hear me? The voice she equated with Connor answered.

  I’m here. Are you all right?

  I will be, thanks to you. The capac root helped and now my family has defeated Rowan, Clarity silently communicated. I wish I knew how I could help you, how I could keep you safe.

  Don’t worry about me, Connor replied. My life means little. It is enough that I was able to help save your life, in a small way, since there was nothing I could do for you when you were here. Please don’t forget me.

  I could never forget you, not in a hundred years.

  “You are awake,” her mother said, ending the silent conversation with Connor. “I’ve been sent to tell you that you and Tom will be mated tomorrow night. My childhood friend, Serena will be here on the first flight. It will be so good to see her again. As soon as she arrives the two of us will prepare you for the mating.”

  “May I see Tom?”

  “I’m afraid not. It’s almost midnight and tomorrow will be here soon. You know what they say about the bride seeing her groom on the day of the mating. We want no more bad luck in this family.”

  “I heard Tom in my mind. He told me that Lucas has moved time forward in the same way Rowan did when Chas and Justin were to be mated. I don’t understand how it’s done, but after the experience of the time warp, I’m willing to believe anything.”

  “Will you excuse us for a moment, Joanna?” Tom asked.

  Clarity looked up to see him standing in the doorway.

  “I don’t think that it’s wise. You know what they say about seeing the bride on her mating day.”

  “I have ten minutes, Joanna. I want to see her for just a little while. I promise at the stroke of midnight, I’ll leave. I want nothing to put a curse on our lives together.”

  Clarity could feel herself flush with desire for Tom. She waited until her mother had left the room to sit up and talk to him. “Are you sure?” she asked. “After what happened do you still want me?”