Moon Glamour by Aimee Easterling (books to read to be successful TXT) 📕

I could hear the rustle as Lupe’s head shook. “No. But you should consider what you might ask for. In a pinch, the boon might be turned to our advantage. You’d have to get the words just right though. She’ll be hoping you leave a loophole of inequality to let her reel you back in.”

That was the only warning she provided. Lupe didn’t remind me that Marina would know the moment I headed in her direction. Didn’t warn me a second time that my presence could be worse than my absence.

Instead, she accepted the fact that I’d be joining the strike force when we assembled an hour before sunset. She trusted me to make it work.

Chapter 37

I’d expected Gunner’s promised half dozen sword-wielding alphas, but cars kept pulling into the Walmart parking lot for the better part of an hour. Despite the danger of leaving them unattended, I rushed inside to buy bandannas and one other item. And when I came back out, thirty men and women milled around with wolves behind their eyes and swords belted at their hips.

They were wild and dangerous and I assumed the driver of the ride-share van I’d booked would refuse to allow us inside once he set eyes on us. Instead, he greeted us with a big grin and a thumbs up. “Nice costumes! Let me guess—Lord of the Rings?”

“Right,” I told him, glad he didn’t have the lie-sniffing abilities of a werewolf. “Exactly. We’re going to a house party....”

Someone behind me snickered. Someone else rumbled out a growl at an accidental invasion of his personal space. The air grew so electric it seemed as if fur would fly.

I glanced at Lupe, expecting her to take over. But she didn’t. Just shrugged and let the alphas be alphas. My heart was in my throat as I stuffed them into far too few seats, knowing full well that territorial werewolves only got ornerier in close proximity. By the time our driver returned his attention to the road and his music, their ire felt like ants running all over my skin.

A sword grated against its sheath and I spun, expecting battle to erupt right there in the cramped confines of the vehicle. But Lupe’s hand on my shoulder stopped me. The intensity of her gaze suggested it was better to leave the alphas alone.

“Ryder and Butch will meet us there,” she informed me.

I blinked, trying to focus despite the reek of fur so intense I could barely breathe. “Good. Great.”

Now someone was snarling. He wanted to open a window. Predictably, three other voices disagreed.

And I couldn’t help myself. Lupe was keeping out of the mess because it was suicide to dive in the middle of such powerful werewolves. But if they couldn’t ride together in a van without arguing, how were they going to unite long enough to vanquish the fae? And free Tank?

So I whirled, facing them directly. My gaze met alpha eyes, every single one amber with incipient wolf.

“Is there going to be a problem?” I bit out, imagining the alphas were teenagers. I straightened my spine and glared, pretending they’d forgotten to turn in their homework. Had made up some half-assed excuse about a nonexistent dog.

And, to my surprise, they responded just like Harper would have.

“No, ma’am.”

“You lead and we’ll follow.”

“We know what we’re here for.”

And while the electricity in the air didn’t lessen, every sword stayed in its sheathe for the remainder of the ride.

GRUMBLING FADED AS we disembarked from the van at the far end of Rowan’s driveway. Now the alphas were alert to pending battle, their wolves visible behind their eyes for a different reason. One sniffed the air and pointed toward the forest.

“There.”

Sure enough, McCallister shifters slid out from between tree trunks. All were men, the women apparently not being allowed out of the harem. There was still diversity though. Some were lupine. Some human. The latter boasted swords as menacing as our own.

But men and wolves all waited, standing in an unbroachable line for one long moment until Rowan emerged from their midst. His teeth were sharp as he scanned the alphas, even sharper when his gaze settled on me.

“This is private property. My territory is closed to your kin.”

The implication shook me. “My sister...” I started, the words torn out without my permission. My fingers slid to the cell phone in my pocket. Could Rowan have found Harper and...?

Now Lupe did step forward, speaking over me. “We’re here on Samhain Shifters business. As you know, that provides free passage anywhere we wish to go.”

Rowan didn’t even answer this time. Instead, he drew his sword.

Metal rasped against metal all around me. If I’d needed any additional proof that Rowan was in Marina’s pocket, here it was. In the past, Rowan’s offensives had tended toward fangs and fur.

Still, if his side was using swords, ours would also. I yanked out my weapon, wishing I’d found time to do more than learn two parries and a single attack. I’d hoped we wouldn’t be using our swords until fae materialized. I’d hoped...and I’d been wrong.

Because the time for speaking was apparently over. I opened my mouth to try to talk Rowan around....and our forces crashed together. Grunts, roars, and growls. A blow swung toward my midsection and I barely dodged.

We were outnumbered, but the alphas Gunner had assembled were masters. Better than Rowan’s underlings and ten times better than me.

I did my best to hold my spot in line anyway, but I almost dropped my sword the third time someone came at me with a berserker’s fury. “Behind me.” The gruff growl emerged from a female alpha sporting a red armband. Rather than waiting for me to comply, she grabbed me with her free arm and pushed me where she wanted me to go.

Then I was being pressed backwards over and over. Away from the fighting. Away from danger. I stumbled as my feet landed back on the