Midnight Moonrising (Moonrising #2)(105)

It stalked around the cage, its eyes on Phoenix as it snarled, and drool dripped from its sharp-looking teeth.

"Mena?" Alex whispered, and the wolf glanced at him, her growls calming, but her fangs were still bared.

He took a step closer to the cage, reaching out. The wolf lunged at the bars the same time Phoenix grabbed him and jerked him back.


A high-pitched whine came from her the instant she touched the bars, and she lurked back, pawing at her smoking snout.

Alex wiped his damp palms on his jeans. "She doesn't know me."

Phoenix chuckled. "She knows you, all right. She also senses that you have named your wolf, and that we are trying to figure out her name. You are no use to her now. You have betrayed her."

"So, I'm just supposed to sit back and let you and another guy have her?" Alex said, fury filling his tone.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Phoenix said, "This is bigger than a relationship, Rhodes. This is about saving the world." He pointed to the wolf within the cage. "If you want that, then you deserve to be locked in there with her!"

"Put me in there. I can talk to her. She will listen to me."

Phoenix turned and stalked toward the door. "You're stupid. Come help us or get the hell out of my house. At this point, I honestly don't care which decision you make."

Alex looked at the snarling wolf after Phoenix left. He knew the woman he loved was in there somewhere, and that she would still want him if she had the choice to. He couldn't walk away from her and give up now. Not just because they told him to; there had to be another way other than the vampire's way. And it didn't matter to him what he had to do to make it happen. Nothing would stop him, not even his badge. "I'll find a way to save you," he said, and then he walked away from her.





THE NEW MOON





Chapter 52



Phoenix





Phoenix glared at the digital clock on his bedside table as it switched from 11:59 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. They had exactly twenty-thousand, one-hundred and-sixty minutes to save Mena or his existence, as he knew it, would be extinguished.

Just like a light going out.

One minute he'd be here, the next, he'd be gone… and so would she.

He wondered if there was life after death for someone like him. He believed there was a supreme being that would save the humans who followed Him, but was there someone—or something—to save someone like him, a vampire, a creature of the night, a monster?

If so, would he see Mena on the other side? Would they get another chance at a happily-ever-after?

Thoughts like these had consumed him since the moment he'd locked Mena on the other side of the silver bars. He had reached through them, brushed the tears from her cheeks and made the promise again that he would find a way to save her.

He'd broken that promise.

There was no salvation for her or any of them. Only two hours prior, they had made the last call to the last Alpha wolf in the last damn binder Heather had.

Besides Little Rock and Houston, they had all answered with a definite no. But he still had no hope, because now Little Rock and Houston weren't answering any of their calls.

After they finished, Phoenix had sent the wolves home to rest and recharge. They were at the halfway mark. Surely they could come up with something in fourteen days.

Rhodes stayed with Roel at his house, since everyone assumed the detective's place was being watched by the rogues. Of course, Roel's house was probably being monitored, too, but there were two of them living there. It was less likely the rogues would try and take the detective or attack with Roel there; he was an extremely skilled fighter. He had even been teaching Rhodes a few tricks. That was a good thing, Phoenix thought. That dummy needed all the education on shifter etiquette he could get.

"Phoenix!" a guy shouted from out in the corridor. Phoenix bolted upright, turning on the bedside lamp as Roel flew through the door.

"What the hell—"

"I found one!" Roel shouted, his eyes shining with relief and joy.

Phoenix threw back the duvet and got out of bed, grabbing his robe off the foot of the bed and slipping it on. "You found another Alpha wolf? Did Little Rock or Houston get back to you?"

Roel puckered his lips, averting his eyes from him. "Not exactly, and no, they didn't."

Phoenix stopped and stared at him. "Well, did we miss someone or did one of the refusals change their mind?"

Roel took in a deep breath and let it out fully before he spoke. "Neither. He's an Alpha, a strong one, but he isn't a werewolf."

Phoenix's eyebrows popped up. "What is he?"

"A li(cough-cough-cough),"

One of Phoenix's eyebrows fell, and he craned his ear in Roel's direction, as if that would help him better hear a word that hadn't actually been spoken. "He's a what?"

Roel sighed. "He's an Alpha Lion—" he held out his hands when Phoenix rolled his eyes and started to turn away. "Wait! I know what you're thinking—"

"Really? Do you?" Shaking his head, Phoenix walked toward his chair beside the fireplace. "I know of only one pride of lions in the United States, Roel, and I'm not letting that particular leader bond with Mena. No," he said as he sat down. "Absolutely not."