Midnight Moonrising (Moonrising #2)(60)

Simultaneously, Roel and Phoenix's heads jerked back, and they both covered their noses as crimson stained their skin.

With wide eyes, Phoenix looked at his blood-soaked fingers. "Where is Mena?"

"Interrogating Dana," Roel said, but before he even got the words out of his mouth, Phoenix was running for the door.



v''''v





Phoenix





Mena was going to be pissed! Phoenix thought as he and Roel ran for the others. Why Mena was bleeding quickly surpassed his worry of the ass-chewing he was bound to get from her later.

An invisible hand punched him in the gut, and Roel grunted from behind him.

"Yeah, this was a f*cking brilliant idea, Phoenix," Roel growled. "I don't think you're going to have to worry about any of us or the wolf killing you. I'm pretty sure Mena's going to do it herself."

"This could have all been prevented if her pack had told her to name the damn wolf, so don't blame me for everything when your hands aren't even clean, Pup. I won't be the only one who has disappointed her by the end of the day."

Roel threw out his hand to keep the door closed when Phoenix grabbed the doorknob of the cell room. "We can't tell her about the wolf's name, not until we figure out what it is—"

Phoenix glared at him. "Why the hell not?"

"When the wolf finds out we are trying to figure out her name, she'll take over Mena and run away so we can't find them."

Phoenix's eyes narrowed as he thought about that. "She's going to leave me for this anyway."

Roel shook his head. "I'll make you a deal; if you keep this a secret and help us figure out the wolf's name, we will help you make this shit plan of yours sound good to Mena later."

Phoenix hissed and quickly looked at his forearm as a long gash appeared and blood poured freely from the wound. He didn't bother giving Roel's arm a look before he jerked the door open and stormed through it. "Deal," he growled over his shoulder.

Blood was everywhere, and Phoenix had to slow his pace and stop breathing altogether to keep from getting overwhelmed by it.

Lea's eyes were wide as she stared at him in horror from her hunkered position in the corner. He motioned with his hand toward the door, and she jumped to her feet and ran as fast as her mortal legs would allow. She didn't need to see this.

Brad and Heath were standing as close to the silver bars of the cage as they could, without actually touching it, shouting at Mena to open the cage door, blood pouring from their nostrils and arms just as it was Roel and him. It was obvious from their terrified expressions that they had figured out something was terribly off with the scene playing out before them.

Roel was right; linking them all together was a horrible idea—no, he'd said it was a shit plan. It was that, too.

Shit plan or not, he had to focus on the problem at hand. Mena and the traitor were circling each other in the ten-by-ten cage, and by the vertical burn marks on Dana's face, it was clear Mena had shoved the girl's face into the silver bars more than once. He wanted to take the time to have a proud moment, but he really needed to stop this before the girl got a lucky stab in with that silver-coated blade she had gripped in her right hand.

"She's got the only key!" Heath shouted to Phoenix.

"She won't listen to us!" Brad said. "You gotta get her out of there!"

Phoenix dug in his pocket and retrieved a ring of keys then quickly opened the cage door and rushed inside. Dodging one of Dana's wild swings, he grabbed her wrist and spun her around until her back was up against his chest, her arm bent at an odd angle between them. Still gripping that wrist tight, he jerked until her arm dislocated from her shoulder and she screamed in agony. The silver blade slipped from her fingers and clattered to the cement flooring.


Glaring at the silver eyes of Mena's wolf over Dana's shoulder, Phoenix said in a low and dangerous voice, "What the hell are you trying to do, get yourself killed?"

Mena shrugged nonchalantly. "I was giving her the challenge she asked for. It's not exactly fair for her or fun for me if she's tied to a chair when she dies." Her expression turned confused when she saw the blood on his face and arm. "Did you get into a fight?"

His gaze shifted to Roel as he answered her. "Not exactly."

She looked at Roel and then to Heath and Brad, immediately noticing their injuries. "What happened to the four of you?" Her eyes darted back to Phoenix and she scowled as her fists came up to rest on her hips. "Have you been fighting with my pack—?"

Phoenix shoved Dana down on the chair and began shackling her to it. The girl didn't resist. Guess she was smarter than he thought she was. After he finished, he pointed at her as he glared at Mena. "You are going to do this the unfair and unfun way, because we are getting tired of you letting her get jabs in!"

She raised an eyebrow as she studied him. "Are you suggesting that I had anything to do with the reason why all of you look like you've been in a bar fight? I've been locked in this cage with that tramp for the last ten minutes."

"Look at yourself, Mena," Roel said. "Our injuries are the same as—" Roel's sentence was cut short when Dana began cackling.

They all turned their heads and watched her as she brayed.