Midnight Moonrising (Moonrising #2)(58)

Roel pulled up Phoenix's number to send him a text as he stepped out of the vehicle.

Mena is acting strange. WTF did the witches do to her?

He stared at the phone until Phoenix's text came through.

Strange how?

The garage door began to rise, and the human girl who had escorted them earlier when they had brought Dana in was waiting on the other side.

"Follow me," Lea said.

Roel followed behind everyone as he typed.

IDK. Talking about herself in third person for one thing.

Lea had lowered the garage door and was leading them into the house when Roel's phone vibrated in his hand with Phoenix's incoming message.

We need to talk privately.

Roel quickly typed back.

Damn right, we do!

Roel could feel the rage boiling in him, getting hotter by the second, but he wouldn't lose his cool with the vampire until he knew for a fact he'd had those witches mess with his Alpha. The spell was only supposed to give her more protection, not make her go crazy.

Lea's phone buzzed, and Roel watched as she read the text then glanced over her shoulder to meet his stare. Opening the door they had gone through earlier, she led the way down the stairs and let Brad, Heath and Mena walk in front of her before falling into step beside Roel.

"Phoenix is waiting for you in his chamber," she whispered, so the others couldn't hear. "It's the third door on the right. I'll take Mena and the others to the prisoner."

He nodded, and followed them until he reached the third door on the right, and then he reached out, grabbed the doorknob and silently ducked into the room without anyone noticing.

"Have a seat," Phoenix said as he poured himself a drink.

"I think I'll stand. What's wrong with her?"

"How should I know? She has been with the three of you most of the day," Phoenix said, and Roel could tell he was genuinely concerned about what he didn't know. "What has happened that has you so troubled about her wellbeing?"

Roel shook his head as his hands came up to rest on his hips. "I noticed it when we were talking about Daryn. She said her wolf wasn't interested in picking him as her Beta."

"I assumed you already knew who the wolf will choose as her Beta. It isn't like she's trying to hide it."

Roel blinked a few times as he studied the vampire. A cold chill skittered up his spine and caused the hairs to prick on the back of his neck when he discovered what he thought might be wrong with his Alpha was actually sooo much worse. "Mena… you assume I know who Mena is going to choose as her Beta, right?"

Phoenix's brow furrowed. "I'm not sure Mena is the one acting strange. You seem a little off kilter yourself, Pup—"

"You said wolf, not Mena! Please tell me that Mena has named her wolf!"

Now it was Phoenix's turn to blink in confusion. "She hasn't mentioned a name—"

Blowing out a quick gust of air, Roel quickly moved toward a chair as his vision began to swim. "I think I'll sit down now," he said, and practically fell into the chair, bending at the waist and letting his head fall between his knees as he sucked in short, shallow breaths. "Shit, this is our fault. With everything that's happened since she accepted the moon, nobody thought to tell her she had to name her f*cking wolf! Oh, God… I think I'm going to be sick."

"What happens if she doesn't name her wolf?"

Roel's head shot up and he stared hard at Phoenix. "Her? How do you know it's a female?"

Phoenix shrugged. "Well, because I've met her. She likes the detective."

"You've met her in wolf form?" Roel said, panic clear in his voice.

Phoenix shook his head. "No, she hasn't forced Mena to shift yet—"

"Mena is the one who is supposed to make her shift, not the other way around! Christ! The whole world is f*cked," he whispered as he started to rock back and forth on the furniture cushion. After a moment, he looked back up at Phoenix and stilled. "How often does she take over Mena's body?"

"Look, it's obvious you know more about this than we do, so why don't you stop asking questions and tell me what the hell is going on with Mena and her wolf!"

Roel let his face fall into his hands as he shook his head, forcing himself to calm down before he lost his damn mind. If they ever did get Mena back, she was going to kill them. And the sad thing about that was they all deserved it.

He drew in a deep breath and exhaled fully before speaking. "We are supposed to give our werewolf a name after we accept the moon. Doing it doesn't only claim the moon; it claims dominance over the beast. If it's not done, the beast will name itself and slowly gain more and more control until it has full control."

"I fear that may have already happened," Phoenix said. "The wolf has been able to take over Mena anytime she has wanted to."


Roel shook his head. "No. It takes a lot of energy to take over the host, but the more often she does it, the stronger she will get. She won't be able to take over permanently until the next full moon. She will need to rest and recharge between each takeover."

"What do you suggest we do to stop this from happening?"

"We only get about two nights after the first full moon to give them a name before they start taking over, and the last full moon was the night Mena was bitten. We have to find out what the wolf has named herself and Mena has to call it out before the next full moon."