The Lunar Warriors: The Elemental Wolves Book 2 (Part 1) Read online

  The Lunar Warriors

  Part 1

  The Elemental Wolves

  Book 2

  M. D. Butler

  Excerpt

  James is still silent, and I can tell that the others are about to jump his ass. Not going to lie, I have half a mind to slice him with my claws, too. I refrain from doing so, just barely. Instead, I try to prompt him into giving us some semblance of an answer.

  James? Please, just tell us what it is you’re thinking.

  They’re supposed to be our enemies. They worship a god that is the complete opposite of our goddess. Our resentment of each other is natural. We were born to hate one another.

  Is he talking to himself?

  I think so, Cash. James, we don’t have time for this. What are you talking about?

  If you sense that Jahla is here, then she is.

  Then, where the hell is she? She said she was taken to a cabin, but it’s not here.

  She’s here, Mavrin. The cabin is here.

  I’m not dumb, James. None of us see a damn cabin!

  Den’s hackles are raised, and he’s not alone. Mav is currently giving a low, threatening growl. I know that Cash and I are no better, even though we’re not as threatening. He’s not making any sense, and I’m worried that we might have pushed him too hard in the last stretch of the run.

  He is getting on up there in years.

  It’s cloaked.

  That silences all sounds in the clearing. Only one race of supernaturals can hide shit from view. I’ve only learned about them from my studies because we try to stay far away from them. Like he said, we’re natural born enemies, and usually end up fighting on sight. To be this close to evidence of their presence has every strand of my fur standing on end.

  Maybe it’s something else, James.

  There’s real panic in Kevin’s eyes as he says this while looking at each of us.

  It’s the only explanation.

  He doesn’t even have to say it because we already know. If the cabin is cloaked, it can only mean one thing…

  This book is dedicated to my husband because he better rescue me if I’m ever taken…

  Or else…

  Chapter 1

  Denahi

  Something’s not right. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I just feel… off. There’s a voice whispering through my mind. A voice that brings joy to my heart, but even the tone of that voice bothers me. What the hell is going on?

  Jahla?

  I don’t receive an answer.

  Is it one of the guys? My parents? Someone from the pack?

  Well, maybe I would be able to determine who it is if I can just wake up. Duh, Denahi.

  Easier said than done, though. I’m stuck in the crazier space between sleeping and wakefulness. I’m kind of aware of things, but unable to do anything about the sensations.

  I fight through the haze of my mind, forcing myself to awaken so that I can get to the bottom of whatever the hell this is. The first thing that hits me is the smell.

  Sex, and lots of it if my memory serves me correctly. A gentle smile crosses my lips as I remember Jahla sliding along the skin of my dick. I harden a little at that thought alone.

  Wait, Jahla. I take another deep breath. Her scent is there, but it’s faint. My eyes snap open as soon as that registers to my sleep addled brain.

  The first thing I see is limbs scattered all around the bed, but they’re all solidly muscled. None of them belong to my pixie, and my heart immediately starts to race. I try not to panic. Just because she’s not in the room doesn’t automatically mean that something’s wrong. The feeling from earlier says otherwise, though.

  I climb over Mav to my right, and make my way to the door. Maybe she just went upstairs for food. Mother knows the sexcapades lasted for a few days while we rode out her heat.

  Literally rode it out. I smirk a little to myself at that one. Cash would be proud.

  The smirk instantly drops from my face as the other half of that statement slaps me in the face so hard that I stop mid step as I’m climbing the stairs on my way to the kitchen.

  Fuck! Her heat!

  We didn’t do anything to prevent pregnancy. Maybe we got lucky, and it won’t… stick. Females don’t get pregnant every time they have sex during their heat. Who the hell am I kidding? Jahla has four mates. There’s no way we’re getting out of this shit without a kid. Doesn’t stop me from send a prayer up to the Mother, though. She knows better than anyone that we can’t have a kid right now. We have shit to do!

  I continue up the stairs on my way up the stairs towards the kitchen. The feeling of trepidation washes over me again, settling in my stomach. I try to push it away, telling myself that it’s just my paranoia over not having her in my sight.

  Why is there bacon burning, and why did it take me so long to smell it? Fuck, that shit stinks. Jahla’s an excellent cook, especially breakfast. She must be as out of it as I am to burn something. At least she thought of feeding everyone.

  As I round the corner at the top of the stairs, I hear that voice whisper through my mind again. I know it’s Jahla, but I can’t grasp what she’s saying. Is she trying to make us wake up?

  I finally make it to the kitchen, and stop dead in my tracks. The bacon is burning, and eggs are splattered all over the floor from a bowl that has been dropped.

  I’m wide awake and alert now as my mind immediately goes to the worst possible conclusion. With the fluttering of my heart comes that voice that’s been on repeat in the back of my mind. As soon as I hear clearly for the first time, my veins fill with flames as I’m consumed with a rage so strong, I feel as though I’m going to combust.

  As fast as the feeling comes, I’m flooded with numbness. The only thing on my mind is Jahla. It’s the only thing I can focus on. Somewhere in my subconscious, I’m pissed as fuck. On the surface? I’m calm. If I allow that raging side to rise, I can’t focus.

  The guys must have felt my emotions from a second ago because they’re suddenly racing up the basement stairs and into the kitchen.

  “What the hell is – “

  They stop as they follow my line of sight to the mess in the kitchen. Now, as awake as I am, they immediately search for Jahla. It doesn’t take them long to come to the same conclusion as me.

  Breakfast is burning.

  Her scent is faint.

  The thread of the bond that leads to her I stretched taut as though she were a great distance from us.

  “Where’s Jahla? Den, Where’s Jahla?!”

  I calmly take my eyes from the mess in the kitchen, and settle them on Krix’s worried face. He already knows that she’s not here. I can tell he knows what I’m about to say. He knows he and the others need to hear the words even if they’ll shatter their hearts.

  “She was taken.”

  “The fuck do you mean she was taken?!”

  “How… Who…?”

  “Denahi, what happened?”

  Mav is panicking while Cash looks like he’s about to pass out in the floor from his heartbreak. Krix is the only one truly holding it together because my mind is already fractured from the discovery of my pixie being snatched from our own home.

  His words finally registered through the fog that has coated my anger. What happened? No, it’s not a what. It’s a who. A who that’s going to die by my bare hands when we receiver our girl. A who that will suffer so much that they will beg for death. A who that has started a war that I hope the wolves are ready for.

  I repeat the name that sounds loud and clear in my mind in harmony with Jahla’s voice.

  “Benson.”


  Chapter 2

  Jahla

  I keep my eyes closed so that I don’t alert the cunt to the fact that I’m awake. I felt a sudden rush of anger before it was gone which pulled me from my drugged state.

  Can such a strong emotion from the bond that I have with my mates burn through drugs?

  I give a mental shrug. Who the hell knows what could happen with us? Our situation can’t really be pitted against the norm. Even we don’t know the extent of our shit.

  At least they’re awake, but I wish this wasn’t something that they had to wake up to. My plans to wake them up to a huge breakfast are ruined thanks to this dickhead currently driving me to Mother knows where.

  Asshole! All of that bacon… gone! Of course, it would be an over-privileged fucktard who messes up good bacon. Every time I think about something that’s gone wrong because of him, he gets a new name. I think I’m getting pretty creative.

  How else am I going to make it through this abduction if I can’t mentally entertain myself? I know whatever the tittyboy has planned is going to be painful, but that’s nothing new. I can take pain. I’ve been dealing with their brand of pain all of my life. I just have to shut off the bond during those times so it doesn’t affect my guys. They’re already going through enough now that they’ve realized I’m gone.

  I know that the anger I felt came from Denny. The thread that connects me to him is still subtly blazing in my mind’s eye from a moment ago. It was so strong that I felt as though I could actual see it behind my closed eyelids. What scares me a little is the fact that it was so strong before, but it suddenly became muted. I don’t know what that’s all about.

  I hope he got my message before I passed out from the chloroform. With his affinity being fire, I didn’t want him to burn down the house or create a trail of flames as he ran around looking for me.

  Funny that I thought about the house before anything else, but I never claimed to be in my right mind all the time. We have a nice freaking house! Sue me.

  With him knowing who’s behind this, I had hoped it would placate him enough to keep a level head. Maybe that’s why he’s subdued now.

  One can only hope.

  As I’m opening the next door that I’ve erected to contain each bond in my mind, I’m hit with a feeling of heartache so strong that it almost brings tears to my eyes. I hold them back, though. It’s hard enough maintaining my heartrate so that bitch ass up front doesn’t realize I’m awake. Definitely don’t want him to smell my tears.

  Oh, my poor Cash! His pain is damn near physical. I knew that they would be hurt, but I didn’t know it would feel like this. It feels like his heart is literally breaking right now.

  Yes, I’m hurting, too. The distance stretching between our bond makes my soul feel as though it’s being ripped in half. Cash’s pain? It’s like my heart has been blown open with a buckshot bullet.

  I have to pull away from his thread before the tears overcome my willpower. I move onto Mavrin’s door, being extra careful to keep the doors closed to all of the bonds so I can keep concentrating on my façade. As I slowly open the door containing his thread, I almost slam it back shut as I’m attacked by a wave a panic.

  Breezy is in full blown panic mode! Like, hyperventilating type of panic. I didn’t know he could get this far gone. I can’t allow myself to stay with his bond because it’s going to make me start panicking, too. Reluctantly, I softly close that door, being carefully not to let him know that I was even there.

  I open my eyes to peep at muttface before I go back to pretending, making sure that he’s still unaware that I’m not doped up anymore. I want to wiggle my fingers and toes, but I’m afraid that the movement will catch his attention, so I stay completely still while keeping my breathing slow and steady.

  I move on to the door in my mind that contains Krix’s bond. I don’t know what to expect after dealing with the others. I’m almost afraid to even peek at it after Denny gave me such a strong blast that I had to close off from them.

  Stealing myself for what might be on the other side of the door, I mentally open it.

  He’s… frazzled. It’s like he’s a mix of everything that the others are feeling, but he also feels scared. No one emotion stays long enough, and they’re all blanketed by a strong sense of determination. It’s that feeling that lets me know that it’s time to talk to my guys, so I throw open all of the doors at once now that I know what to expect.

  Hey!

  The instant shock I feel after my exclamation notifies me that I’ve gathered their attention. Doesn’t hold them off for long.

  Jahla?

  Where are you?

  What the fuck happened?

  I’m going to kill him.

  Of course, Denny jumps straight to murder. It almost makes me smile, but I stop myself just in time.

  I’m not hurt or anything, guys. He shoved a rag full of chloroform in my face, but nothing else so far.

  He better not do anything else!

  Do you know where you are?

  How long have you been awake?

  Where is he taking you?

  Guys! Calm down! I can only answer one question at a time, so raise your hands or something. I don’t know where I’m going, but my guess would be somewhere on his pack’s territory. The psycho may be arrogant, but he’s still a conceited little boy. He’ll probably take me somewhere there thinking that no one can get to me that’s not invited inside the borders.

  Dumbass! He wasn’t invited here, and he got in.

  Does he know you’re awake?

  Thank the Mother for Krix’s rational thinking right now. Cash’s earlier heartache has morphed into vengeance, and so has Mav’s panic. Denny still has a simmering rage burning along our bond, but Krix’s emotions have settle on determination.

  My guys are paying attention now.

  He doesn’t know I’m awake, as far as I know. I don’t know how long was out, but I woke up around the time that you guys did. Kind of blasted us all there, Denny. I’m trying to keep my breathing and heartrate steady so he doesn’t realize I’m not sleeping anymore. I wish I knew how long I was out, though.

  Don’t worry about that right now, angel. Just don’t close the bond anymore. We’ll try to stay calm why we get to you.

  Maybe we should pull away a bit.

  What? You can’t be serious, Mavrin! She’s been abducted by a crazy fucker, and you want to PULL AWAY?!

  I can tell that he said the words out loud as well as in his head. Huh. Didn’t know Cash could do two things at once.

  That’s not what he means, Cash. Calm down. The link will still be open, but none of us will be bombarded with constant conversations and images that can be distracting. Jahla needs to stay safe, and we need to find her.

  It’s silent as they all think about it. I take that time as another chance to open my eyes. I can see the sun beginning to rise to my left. I would let my wolf out a little so she can help me determine what direction we’re going, but she might come out too far. There’s no telling what she would do if she gained control after being caged for so long, and I still don’t want the pussy to know I’m awake.

  Okay, we’ll pull back just enough to be able to sense each other. That should keep everyone sane enough to stay focused. We’ll get everyone together to come after you. Just be careful until we get there, angel. We’re coming.

  I’m suddenly filled with so much love from them that I’m afraid I might begin to glow. I let a small smile slip onto my face before I let it go slack again.

  Pixie?

  Yeah, Denny?

  Whenever you get a chance to talk to him, make sure you tell him that he’s fucked up.

  I don’t think she should antagonize her kidnapper, Den.

  I want to know that he’s the reason for this, Mav.

  The reason for what?

  I already know what he’s going to say, even before the words reach me through the bond. I didn’t want to believe it when it first crossed my mind as I thought
about what shitface’s punishment would be for taking me. I don’t feel like I’m ready, but I know that I never had a choice in the timing.

  It was bound to happen.

  I feel determination spread through the bond connecting me to my four mates as they all realize what this situation means.

  Benson has initiated the beginning of the war.

  Damn.

  They’re going to fuck some shit up.

  Chapter 3

  Jahla

  I allow myself to drift back off to sleep, knowing that whatever the bastard has planned won’t happen until we reach our destination. I can still feel the reassuring presence of my bond, and I allow it to sooth me.

  I feel like I’m in a dreamless sleep until it begins to gradually change. What was once a feeling of floating in vast emptiness changes to a foggy meadow in a forest. I’m a little disoriented, wondering what my subconscious is telling me. As the rest of the forest becomes clearer, my other senses join the fray on a more muted level.

  That’s really throwing me off. I can hear sounds coming from my right, but can barely make out what it is. I make my way in that direction, and realize that I don’t really have a form. I’m more ghost-like.

  Shit’s getting weird, but I remind myself that this is a dream. I resist the urge to pinch myself, fearing that it’ll wake me up. Something tells me that this dream has meaning, so I need to go with the flow to let it play out.

  Doesn’t mean I have to like it as I’m gliding across the meadow with making indentions in the forest floor. I get closer, but I still can’t hear whatever the hell is going on, just knowing that this is where the noise is coming from. Once

  Once I make it to the edge of the meadow, it changes again to… a wasteland.

  What the fuck is this?

  There’re areas that are burning, and others that are flooded. Twisters off in the distance, and boulders soaring through the sky. At first, I think it’s the end of the world. You know, apocalypse type of stuff. It’s the flying boulders that tip me off to what’s really going on.