Page 4 of Luna Rising

“You have voiced your concerns already.” Essie kept her eyes on me. “Zara can make her own decisions, and her thoughts are the only ones I’m interested in hearing.”

A growl rumbled in Ewan’s chest. “With all due respect, Elder Sable, this is my house and Zara is my mate. You may speak to her across the barrier, as we agreed.”

“Don’t let her in. You’re not ready for this. Trust me,” Ewan spoke inside my head, more of a plea than a command. “You won’t forgive yourself if something goes wrong.”

I blinked several times unnecessarily. “Um, maybe Ewan is right.” The words sounded raspy, my throat growing tighter by the second. “I’m not sure I’m ready yet, and you’re much too valuable to be my first victim.”

She pursed her lips while she studied me, as if trying to decide if this was my choice or Ewan’s influence. After a minute, she nodded. “Of course, dear. A few more days won’t hurt.” Essie unzipped her jacket and reached inside, pulling out a flat rectangular box and handing it to me. “In case you need something to keep you occupied.”

I hesitated. Ewan eyed the package and nodded, encouraging me to take it. “Thank you,” I whispered, setting the box aside.

Essie caught sight of the emoji burned into my palm and frowned, but didn’t comment. She turned and swept past Ewan toward the stairs. “Don’t keep an old woman waiting too long,” she called and disappeared around a corner.

He shook his head and mumbled under his breath, something about the older women in his life treating him like a cub. He brushed a quick kiss across my forehead. “I’ll be back to check on you in a little while. Stay put.”

The door closed before I could respond, sealing me again inside the bedroom prison. I toyed with the ribbon on Essie’s gift, considerably less annoyed about being left alone in a locked room again. I lifted the lid and peered into the box. An ornate gold-handled mirror nestled in a bed of tissue paper.

The last time I’d seen the mirror was before leaving to rescue Winter from the Infinites. It had drawn me in from the first moment I laid eyes on it, in a pawnshop of all places. The mirror had called to me then, same as it did now. Only after Essie had tested it did I understand why I felt the magnetic pull—in another life, the mirror had belonged to me. I’d created it to see my descendants, those born from the line of Stavros and Zosia.

At least, that was the assumption, since I had yet to regain any memories of it from my previous lives.

I wrapped my fingers around the handle and plopped down on the bed with the mirror. Jagged lines appeared on the reflective surface, separating it into thirteen pieces. I selected a section with two figures huddled together on a large, snow-covered rock and tapped to enlarge the image.

Tears pricked my eyes. My brother had his arm around Brooke, and her head rested on his shoulder. They were in the woods, on Zach’s favorite rock, just the two of them. Their voices were faint, as if traveling a very long distance to reach my ears.

“Is it true, you think?” Brooke asked.

Zach’s expression was pensive as he played with her hair. “Dad doesn’t.”

My best friend rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I asked.”

Zach shrugged. “It’s what matters. I’m not alpha yet.”

Brooke angled her body and placed her small hands on his cheeks. “Your opinion matters to me. So tell me—is it true? Are the eternals rising?”

Zach stared into her eyes, his gaze so much like mine that it was like looking into a mirror. “Zara swore she saw the vampire that killed Nate Ames shift. The rumors about a vampire who can use magic have been circulating for a while. Now, the Zodiac Fae council is questioning the leader of the Gemini Fae about her great-granddaughter. All signs are pointing to yes.”

This is bad. So, so bad. Fuck.

Brooke leaned in until her lips touched Zach’s. “Then you must speak with your father,” she whispered. “He has to understand the larger picture.”

Zach pulled back and shook his head. “He doesn’t want to hear it.”

Brooke stood her ground, drawing my brother back to her. “Make him listen. The future of the pack—of your pack—depends on it. A war is coming. If your father can’t or won’t accept the truth, many of us will die, my love.”

Zach’s expression softened, and he leaned into her touch.

“Our pack,” he corrected her. “The Gemini wolves will be our pack.”

Winter is Friend, Not Food

I must’ve fallen asleep holding the mirror, only waking later when Ewan peeled the handle from my death grip. On instinct, I hissed and bared my fangs. His gaze narrowed.

“You're a wolf, not a dragon hoarding treasure,” he reminded me, running his thumb over the mark on my palm and frowning.

I snatched my hand back. “You startled me. Isn’t it, like, bad luck to wake a sleeping vampire or something?”

Ewan placed the mirror on the table beside the bed and offered me a steaming mug. “Essie brewed it, to help with the bloodlust.”

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