Resisting the Moon: A Royal Shifters Novel Read online

  He nodded once and guided me down the patio stairs. I didn’t even bother letting go of his hand. I needed his touch, especially now. The smell of blood grew thicker the farther into the woods we traveled. We were close.

  “Why would anyone want to hurt them?”

  Sebastian shrugged. “I’m guessing they were after Amelie. Maybe a wolf wanted her as a mate and she refused?”

  Memories of the battle against Vincent’s wolves flashed through my mind. I’d barely gotten out alive. “I know all too well about that,” I whispered softly. Brows furrowed, he glanced down at me and started to speak, but then stopped, quickly turning his attention to something in the distance. “What is it?”

  His royal abilities far outstretched mine. Everything I could do, he could do three times better. “Death,” he said. “Why don’t you stay here while I take a look?”

  I shook my head, eyes burning. “They’re my family, Sebastian.”

  Still holding my hand, he pulled me the rest of the way. I could hear the bugs flying and the vultures ripping away at flesh. If there was ever a time I didn’t want wolf hearing, it was then. Swallowing hard, I averted my gaze, knowing their bodies were right under my nose.

  Sebastian blew out an angry breath and bowed his head. “I’m so sorry, Tyla.”

  The vultures scattered and I gagged. My eyes were blurry, but I could see the carnage as if I was looking through a microscope. Slapping a hand over my mouth, my body shook and I fell to my knees. So many emotions whirled through me, I didn’t know which one to hold on to. “Oh my God.”

  There were four wolves, all dead; pieces of their bodies strewn about. Whoever had killed my family had enjoyed it, and made sure to make them suffer. I prayed Karma would be a bitch.

  My aunt and uncle were on the ground. Still in wolf form, they were barely intact and gutted, their insides stretched across the dirt and leaves. The only relief to be found, was that my cousin was not there. It looked like after my family ripped the others apart, there were more that came in and devoured them. I could see their tracks, but couldn’t smell them.

  “Why can’t I smell the other tracks? Is it just me?” I asked.

  Sebastian let go of my hand and kneeled, touching the tracks. “No, it’s not just you. But there’s a reason why.”

  I turned to him. “Why?”

  He huffed, jaw tense. “Magic. Whoever did this doesn’t want to be found.”

  “Magic? Are you talking Maret kind of magic?” Maret was a powerful witch I’d helped kill just a few months back. It had happened during a rescue mission for Bailey. I could still taste the foulness of her blood in my mouth. When Sebastian nodded, I groaned. “I didn’t think there were any other witches out there like her.”

  “There must be.”

  “Why are they trying to hide?” It made no sense. Wolves were all about territory and making themselves known.

  “Don’t know, but I sure as hell don’t like it,” he growled.

  “What about Amelie? If she’s not here, they had to have taken her. How are we going to find her?”

  Amelie wasn’t a fighter. When we were younger, she’d been the soft-spoken one who chose to pick flowers and search for beautiful rocks instead of climbing trees and playing in the mud. We were the perfect balance together, and the best of friends. The thought of what was being done to her made me sick. It felt like a rock was being wedged in my throat. I couldn’t breathe.

  Sebastian clutched my cheeks in his hands, turning my face to his. “Calm down, Tyla. We’ll find her, I promise. We just need to track her scent.”

  I tried to turn to the carnage, but he held me firm. “What about my aunt and uncle? We can’t just leave them here.”

  “We won’t. But every second matters. We need to see if we can pick up Amelie’s scent and find out where she was taken. We’ll have to come back and bury your family later.” It was a long shot, considering we couldn’t even track the other wolves’ scents. But we had to try.

  I didn’t want to leave my family rotting on the ground, but what choice did I have? Nodding, I placed my hands over his. “Okay, let’s go.”

  Tyla

  We’d picked up Amelie’s scent pretty easily and followed it away from the carnage. It made no sense why they would leave her scent while masking their own.

  “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” I asked, glancing at Sebastian. “Either they want someone to follow her scent, or they figured she wasn’t part of a pack, and therefore, no one would try to find her.”

  I could tell the wheels in his mind were turning. He was older than me and definitely wiser when it came to tracking. “But why would they mask their own scent then? There’s something more going on, and I can’t figure it out. It makes no sense,” he said.

  “What do you suggest we do?”

  He pointed in the direction Amelie’s scent guided us to. “We keep following.”

  Ten minutes later, we spotted a backcountry road off into the distance. The footprints and spots of blood stopped at the side of the road, where a set of car tires were ingrained in the dried mud.

  “They had this planned,” I said, glaring at the tire tracks on the road. “Can you tell what kind of car they were in?”

  He shook his head. “Only that it’s probably a large SUV or van. There are lots of vehicles with that size of tires.”

  There were no houses within miles. The chances of someone seeing anything were slim. All I could do was stare at the road, hating myself for not knowing what to do. “What the hell are we going to do now?”

  Sebastian came up behind me and put a hand on the back of my neck. His touch made me feel things I didn’t want to feel. Biting my lip, I slipped out from underneath his hand, hating the disappointment on his face.

  He stepped away, the muscles in his jaw tense. “Our best bet is to go back to Amelie’s and search around her house. Maybe there’s something we missed, a clue as to who would be after her. You haven’t seen her in years, so you have no idea who she was involved with.”

  I threw up my hands. “And the only people who would be able to help are dead,” I said angrily. “What’s worse is that I still have to tell my parents. My mother’s going to be heartbroken.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I watched him reach for me again, before stopping short and clenching his hand into a tight fist. How was I going to handle disappointing him every single second of every day? It hurt to know what I was doing to him.

  “Let’s bury your aunt and uncle before we call them,” he said. “That way, they’ll know they’re resting in peace.”

  We were standing in front of Amelie’s house, staring at the front door. The burial was complete, and now we had to uncover the whereabouts of my cousin.

  “Do you want to take a break, or continue our search and go through Amelie’s house?” Sebastian asked, concern etched in his voice.

  We didn’t have time for breaks. The longer Amelie was gone, the smaller her chance of survival became, especially with the full moon coming up in a week’s time. I didn’t want to imagine what would happen to her if we didn’t find her before then.

  “Let’s start searching,” I replied.

  Amelie’s room was upstairs and that was the first place I went. Everything was still in perfect order, all bright and airy in light blue and white. It was only the downstairs that was in shambles. I sat down on her bed and pulled a pillow into my lap.

  Sebastian came into the doorway and stopped, staring at me.

  Taking a deep breath, I gazed around her room and found a picture of us from years ago. We had our arms around each other, smiling from ear to ear in our graduation cap and gowns. Sebastian must’ve followed my gaze because he walked into the room and picked up the picture.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, before passing it to me.

  I smiled. “Thanks. Amelie is as well.” I glanced down at the picture. “All the guys followed her around. She loved breaking hearts.”

  “Wha
t about you?” he asked.

  My smile faded when I looked up at him. “My life was a little more complicated than hers. I had more responsibilities.” From a young age I’d been slated to be our alpha’s mate. Everyone knew I was off limits.

  Sebastian’s gaze narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  I waved him off. “It’s not important.” I slid off the bed and put the picture back on her desk. She’d always had little trinkets and colorful stones she’d managed to collect over the years. Her desk was decorated with all sorts of gems.

  “What’s that?” Sebastian announced from behind. I turned to see what he was referring to. And there, on the corner of the desk, sat a brown leather journal with a smooth blue stone sitting on top. Sebastian stared at it like it had three heads.

  “It’s just Amelie’s journal. Maybe she wrote something that’ll help us.”

  I reached for it and Sebastian shouted, only it was too late; my hand had already closed over the blue stone. A jolt of electricity surged through my veins and it was as if I was taken away from my body. Sebastian yelled my name, but I couldn’t get back to him. I was stuck in a world only I could see.

  Memories flashed through my mind, but they weren’t my own. They were Amelie’s. I could see my aunt and uncle smiling, then it changed to blood. I saw their deaths, heard their screams as the other wolves ripped them apart. I wanted to close my eyes and shut it out, but I couldn’t. I was trapped. The voices of the wolves were all jumbled in my mind, but their faces started to come to me. Ever so slowly, they became clearer.

  “Tyla!”

  Gasping, I was thrust back into my own mind, the blue stone skidding across the floor as Sebastian knocked it out of my hands. He lifted me to my feet, cupping his hands against my cheeks. “What the fuck? Are you okay?” His eyes were wild, flashing back and forth between human and wolf.

  I nodded quickly. “I’m fine. I don’t know what happened.”

  He glanced back at the stone. “I do. That rock is covered in magic. I tried to stop you from touching it, but you beat me to it. What did you see? It’s like you weren’t even here anymore.”

  Swallowing hard, I could taste the bile burning my throat. “I don’t think I was. I could see into Amelie’s memories. She watched the wolves tear her parents apart.”

  Sebastian growled.

  “I was about to see the wolves who took her until I was thrust out. We need to see who they are.” Clutching his hands, I pulled them away from my face and rushed to the stone. Before I could grab it, he tackled me to the floor, pinning my arms above my head. My body was too weak to even fight him off.

  “Tyla, stop! I don’t know what kind of magic this is. We don’t know if it’s good or bad.”

  I tried to move my arms and they wouldn’t budge. “What does it matter if I can find out who took her? Whatever the reason for it being here is, it’s obvious someone was meant to find it.” Her journal still sat on the desk. “We need to read her journal.”

  Huffing, he loosened up his grasp and I still couldn’t fight him off. “The stone made you weak. I’m barely holding you and you can’t fight me.”

  My heart raced. I knew I was close to something; I just needed to get there. “Please, Sebastian. I don’t know what’s going on, but it feels right. You have to trust me.” Jaw tense, he glared over at the stone and reached for it. “What are you doing?”

  “I want to see what you saw.” I held my breath and waited for him to touch it. He took a deep breath, and when he touched it . . . nothing happened. Brows furrowed, he held it in his hands and studied it. That was strange. He helped me to my feet and sat the stone on the desk. “I wonder why it’s not working now,” he said.

  I reached over and scooped up the thick journal, flipping through the pages. There were entries from thirty years before, when we were in Finn’s pack. “I don’t know. Maybe it was only supposed to work one time.” If so, we were screwed.

  “I think we’re done for the day,” he suggested. “You can barely stand. I’ll rent us a cabin out this way so we can come back tomorrow. We’re obviously not going to get much more done today.”

  Nodding, I held the journal firmly in my grasp and picked up the stone, not expecting anything to happen. But that wasn’t the case. I was sucked back into its magic. And this time, I may not have seen the three wolves who took Amelie, but I did see someone else.

  Sebastian

  Tyla was still passed out by the time we got to the cabin I’d rented, so I carried her inside and laid her on the bed. Taking one last glance at her, I shut the door to the bedroom and retreated downstairs. I pulled out the stone and set it on the kitchen table. Why hadn’t it worked for me?

  Sliding my phone out, I dialed Seraphina’s number. She was one of the Royal Pack elders, and a wolf who had the magic of a witch.

  “Hello,” she answered.

  “Seraphina, it’s Sebastian.”

  “Oh dear, you don’t sound so good. I take it there’s bad news.”

  Sighing, I sat down on the couch. “It’s not good. In fact, I have to call Sophia and Erle as soon as I get off the phone with you.”

  “Where’s Tyla?”

  I closed my eyes and concentrated on her in the room above. She was still breathing heavily. “She’s upstairs sleeping. We found her aunt and uncle ripped apart in the woods, with no sign of Amelie.” She gasped. “But that’s not what I’m calling about. Something else happened and I need your help. Have you ever encountered a blue stone with linking capabilities?”

  “Like what exactly?” she asked.

  “We found a smooth, blue stone on top of Amelie’s journal. When Tyla touched it, she was thrust inside Amelie’s memories. The downfall is that it drained Tyla’s energy and completely wiped her out. That’s why she’s unconscious upstairs.”

  “What all did she see?”

  “The first time she touched it, she could see her aunt and uncle’s death. But then I stole the stone away because I thought it was hurting her.”

  “Did you see anything when you touched it?”

  I picked up the stone and examined it. “No. I’m holding it now and it’s not doing a goddamned thing.”

  “Interesting. And from what you said, I’m assuming she touched it more than once?”

  “Yes, but I don’t know what she saw the last time. She’s not awake to tell me.”

  The line grew silent while I listened to Seraphina mumble to herself. Even she seemed to be puzzled. “Can you send me a picture of it?”

  “Sure.” I snapped a picture and sent it over. “You should have it now.”

  Seraphina cleared her throat and sighed. “It looks just like a normal moonstone. Granted, any kind of stone can hold magical capabilities, but it would take someone a lot more powerful than me to do a linking spell on it. My question is, why would anyone want to link Amelie’s memories to it in the first place?”

  “That’s what I’m wondering. I don’t get a bad vibe from the stone, but someone obviously wants this connection to Amelie. We just have to figure out who it is.”

  “And I have no doubt you’ll figure it out. The only suggestion I have is to let Tyla get as much from the stone as she can. You might get the answers you’re looking for.”

  I let out a humorless laugh. “I would if it didn’t zap her energy. She’s comatose right now and I have no clue how long it’ll last.”

  “It’s because she’s not strong enough. If you were mated, like you should be, she’d have the energy of a royal.”

  “That’s not likely to happen any time soon. She fights me every chance she gets.”

  She burst out laughing. “That comes from her mother. Just give her time.”

  I could feel the rage brewing just underneath my skin. “Unfortunately, time isn’t on my side.” We said our goodbyes and I took a deep breath before answering the call that came through next. It was Tyla’s parents. Her phone had been buzzing nonstop for the past two hours.

  “Sophia,
” I greeted.

  “Oh, thank God. What’s going on? Where’s Tyla?” she asked breathlessly.

  “She’s fine, just passed out at the moment. It’s been a long day.”

  “Did you find Amelie? What about my sister? Is she okay?” Her desperation was evident.

  I felt sick knowing the bomb I was about to drop on her. “Is Erle around?”

  She sniffled. “Yes.”

  “Can you put me on speakerphone? I’d like to talk to you both.” She did as I said and I could hear Erle in the background. “We didn’t find Amelie, but we found signs that she was taken. Whoever did it used some very powerful magic. Thankfully, we might have some clues to help us.”

  “And my sister?” Sophia asked.

  I held my breath and blew it out slow. “I’m so sorry, Sophia, but she didn’t make it. Nor did Benjamin.”

  “What happened to them?” she demanded.

  Erle huffed. “Soph, that’s not something you need to know. Sebastian don’t answer that.”

  Sophia burst out crying. “Why would anyone want to hurt them?”

  “I think they were trying to help Amelie and got in the way. She was obviously the one the wolves wanted. I promise we’ll find her. Tyla’s not going to want to leave until we do.”

  “They were best friends,” Erle said. “Attached at the hip, they were.”

  “And it’ll be that way again when we find her. We’ll bring her home.”

  Sophia sniffled again, but her voice was strong. “Sebastian?”

  “Yes,” I replied.

  “Whatever happens, you bring my Tyla home safe. I don’t care what you have to do, or who you have to leave behind, just make sure she gets back. I’m not going to let her kill herself over this mission. You both have so much to live for. I want to see her happy. I want grandbabies to hold.”

  I sighed. “Then talk some sense into her. She won’t listen to me.”

  “She’ll come around,” she murmured. “Tyla’s been through a lot of heartache. I know she’d kill me if I told you this, but she’s just afraid. You need to show her she has nothing to worry about.”