Page 50 of Dark Moon Secrets

“Why? It would make more sense to train me so I was strong when you needed me to be. And why do you need me to be powerful now in the magic? What’s really going on?”

“We had to keep you safe to be sure what was happening. You see, our job is to govern over the other supernaturals. You could be a target if they found out you existed. We’re struggling to keep hold of our power. You were… are our hope to keep us in the top position over the others.”

“Keep going… there has to be more.”

“We were right, you know, to keep you hidden, to prevent your magic from developing until you were eighteen. But well, I guess that’s when things began to go wrong for us and you.”

“Why?” My voice was soft. I didn’t want to know the answer since it would bring up the memories I was trying too hard to suppress.

“They killed your parents.” Grief hit me again. It never seemed any softer when reminded of what happened to my parents.

“Who?” My voice cracked.

“The wolves.”

My face went white. The dream dominated my mind. Two wolves fought over me while I was desperate to get into the shop.

“What happened? I can tell something happened.” Luna’s face paled, the urgency in her voice prickling my skin.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t lie to me, Tanjie,” Luna snapped.

I couldn’t tell her. It didn’t mean anything, right?

She moved next to me, hand on my shoulder. “You can’t do this alone. Or you could end up dead like your parents.”

I didn’t want that, but the words remained unspoken.

“If you’re dead, you can’t avenge who murdered your parents. Don’t let the wolves win.”

Luna’s words motivated me into action. They awoke a fight in me I never knew was there. I couldn’t let whoever killed my parents get away with it.

“I saw what I thought was a large dog outside my window last night.”

“This is worse than I thought. Right, let’s get into some serious magic. The shop stays closed today.”

A shiver coursed through me, the chance to wield magic appealing. I followed her to the small open space between the books and crystals.

Right or wrong, I’ll keep the dream to myself. One of the wolves was protecting me. I needed to know what that meant before blurting it out. Something about the wolf that attacked the other, a bond or a connection of sorts between us, made me keep this detail unspoken.

“Ready, Tanjie?” asked Luna, a serious tone to her voice.

“Ready.” I wanted to learn powerful spells. Those who killed my parents, these wolves or whatever they were, had to pay for their actions.

CHAPTER 19

Alaric

I didn’t like what Rafe was up to with Tyr. I needed to put a stop to it.

The beta position will be mine.

Mulling over what to do, anger slowly simmered below the surface as the heat of the afternoon beat down on me. I longed for the sun to dip lower in the sky so the shadows would lengthen and relieve me from the warmth of the hot summer days.

Better still, I will be alpha.

I placed a red brick on the growing wall that was almost waist high. I tapped into the mortar, wiped away the excess, and then repeated the step. The job was mind-numbing, but it gave me space to think. Damn, it was hard keeping myself in check. If I wasn’t mulling over the beta position, it was sexy thoughts about Tanjie.