Midnight Moonrising (Moonrising #2)(121)

Glancing toward the windshield, my eyes met Phoenix's in the rearview mirror. He was smiling as he watched us, and I leaned forward in my seat to wrap my arms around his neck from behind and kiss him on the cheek. He took his hand from the wheel and covered my wrist, encasing it with his fingers and giving it a gentle squeeze. Even though he couldn't speak ASL, I was looking forward to introducing Phoenix to my brother, too. If I could tell any mortal in the world about my secret identity, it would be my brother; he would understand. I could imagine him thinking of me as a superhero. That was cool with me. I had always thought of him as a superhero.

I only felt a small amount of envy from Ace. I didn't want him to be jealous of Phoenix, nor did I want Phoenix to be covetous toward Ace. I would find a way for us all to be happy; I was sure of it. I could focus on that more after I got my pack back from Daryn. Right now, I needed to center all my attention on keeping us all alive and victorious.

"Really?" I said as Phoenix pulled into the parking lot of IHOP. "I could see Roel's big, blond head and stuffed cheeks through the window. I rolled my eyes as he waved at us, smiling around the huge bite of pancakes in his mouth.

"They thought it was best to go into battle on a full stomach. Helps them think better Roel says," Phoenix said on chuckle as he opened his door and stepped out. "Would you like anything?" He pulled me against him and looked down into my eyes, and then his gaze fell to my lips. A familiar heat swept through me. God, I missed him so much. Just before Ace rounded the back of the Escalade with the sisters, Phoenix bent down and brushed his mouth over mine. A deep moan rumbled up my throat as my body liquefied in his strong arms, and I kissed him back with everything I had in me to give this man.

My desire was swiftly replaced with fury, and since I wasn't used to being angry all the time, it pissed me off even more. I pushed away from Phoenix and turned to glare at Ace.

"Stop it! I'm sorry if this upsets you, but it makes me happy. I love him, Ace! Please accept that. Your pissy attitude is not going to change that. I may be bonded to you, but I don't belong to you. I choose who I want to be with. Don't ever try to make my decisions for me. Phoenix learned that one the hard way."

"Come here." Ace took a step forward, reaching out for me, but I retreated.

"Don't touch me. I don't want your touch to calm me down right now. Let this be a lesson to you: if you cause me to feel angry because of petty jealousy, then I will turn that fury back on you. You will be the one I am mad at."

Ace placed his hands on his hips and looked at the ground. At first the rage intensified, but then he closed his eyes and a vision of me putting on my weapons earlier played through his mind. I could feel the adoration he felt for me in that moment and my, as well as his, anger dissipated as quickly as it had come.


"I'm sorry, Andromeda. I am trying."

I nodded once, but took Phoenix's hand, instead of Ace's, and we walked to the entrance of IHOP.

The hurt Ace felt swarmed me like bees, but an image of me smiling at him earlier flashed through his mind, and I could feel our moods lighten a bit.

I knew he was trying, but I was tired of letting him get away with thinking he owned me. I belonged to no one.

As we walked into the restaurant, six lycanthrope shifters, six panthera leo shifters and Jaxon stood up, some of them still shoveling food in their mouths.

"We're ready," Heath murmured around a mouthful of toast.

"Good," I said, "because I would hate to interrupt your meal to go save our pack from a madman. What kind of Alpha would I be if I did that?"

Roel grinned as he kissed my cheek. "A damn good one. Let's go kick some ass."

"What's the plan?" Alex said. "We can't go into this without a plan. He caused my brakes to fail and, as strong as I am, I couldn't keep the steering wheel from veering toward that damn tree. He has mega powers, Mena. Don't underestimate him. Plus, he has all of your pack on his side. We're outnumbered, by a lot."

"My clan is waiting for my call. They're coming in from the opposite side, so we can surround them. They know not to hurt any of your pack except Daryn, unless it's absolutely necessary."

I nodded. "I'm okay with that."

Since we were meeting Daryn only a few blocks away, we decided to go on foot, instead of in vehicles where he could take us out several at a time.

Ace found my hand, and I allowed him to lace our fingers together. I wasn't mad at him anymore, but I think the only reason I wasn't was because I could see in his mind that he knew he'd been in the wrong.

"I'm sorry," he said to only me. "I know you love him. It just hurts like hell. I'm not sure why it does. These emotions suck. I don't like feeling like this, Andra. But I will try extra hard to ignore or control them when you're around him or when you think of him. I am trying. I want you to believe that. I need you to believe that. You being angry with me was the worst feeling I have ever felt in my life. It crushed me when you wouldn't let me make it better. Again, I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

A grin stretched across my face as I turned my head and made eye contact with him. His earnest expression hit me in the gut. Hard. I squeezed his fingers. "How could I not forgive you, with an apology like that?"

He brought our joined hands up to his lips and kissed the back of my hand. "You're making me such a sap."