Midnight Moonrising (Moonrising #2)(77)

Mena





I waited until I heard a few of the others in the room stirring and my wolf snarling in my head before I opened my eyes to the dimly lit room. I knew it had to look like Phoenix and I had been affected by Meridia's power, too. I felt a little drained, but I didn't think it was me, because I hadn't felt this way before my wolf woke up. It had to be the spell Meridia put over my wolf to knock her out. Maybe it would keep her weak a little while longer, forever if I was lucky. Sadly, I didn't seem to have luck on my side of late. Karma, though… yeah, she was having a blast with me.

Phoenix groaned from beside me, and I almost reached out to take his hand, and then remembered Alex thought I was with him and that I supposedly hated Phoenix. I managed a frown. It really wasn't hard, considering what I had just been informed of.

Trying not to think about anything the witches and Phoenix told me, I scowled at Phoenix. "What did you do, Phoenix?" I said, and the harsh tone of my voice even fooled me. "We came here for their help and you've screwed everything up! Apologize to them," I demanded.

"For what?" he barked as he got to his feet, not bothering to help me to mine. Guess he was good at acting, too. Imagine that.

Unsurprisingly, Alex was there to help me up. I smiled up at him as I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet, exaggerating the act a bit more and snuggling against his body. I cringed inward, but didn't let it show in my actions. My wolf knew I wasn't interested in Alex, but if I suddenly shied away from him and showed Phoenix favoritism, he would suspect something. It was best to act like my wolf when I was around Alex.

Placing a finger under my chin and tilting my head back, Alex studied my eyes with concern. "Are you all right, Mena?"

I nodded once then turned my mean face on Phoenix. I was just about to demand he apologize again when Meridia started shouting.

"Everyone out! Get out of my house!" she wailed.

"Wait!" Roel said as he pointed at Phoenix. "I don't know what he did, but we are innocent, and we need your help!"

Magnalayna and Morgana turned their backs on us and walked into another room. Meridia stood rigid and appeared to be staring down her nose at Roel.

"Seek your help elsewhere," she said, and then turned and followed after her sisters, shutting the room door behind her.

Wow. They were making this really believable.

The flames licking the air and crackling in the fireplace were the only sounds in the room until Daryn spoke.

"Should have known better than to trust witches. Hope you didn't pay them much, *," he said to Phoenix, then opened the front door of the cottage and walked out onto the porch.

"We'll find them on our own," Heath said.

"I never thought using them was a good idea. They always want more payment than the job is worth anyway," Brad said.

Jaw flexing under his taut skin, Roel glared at Phoenix. "You'd better have a damn good back-up plan. You know what's at stake."

The three men turned and followed Daryn out the door.

Jaxon stared at us with narrowed eyes, seeming to be deep in thought, and then he just shook his head and stepped outside.

"Mena?" Alex said. "Are you going home with me?"

Taking in a deep breath, I looked up to see Phoenix's pained expression. Even though we knew this had to happen, I could tell the agony he was letting me see was as real as mine felt.

I nodded as I took Alex's hand. "Yes, let's go."





Chapter 40



Alex





The keys jingled as Alex struggled to find the right one in the darkness. Leaving the light on would have been a brilliant idea, he thought, then the right one slid home and he turned the knob, letting himself and Mena into his apartment.

The small living room and kitchen were illuminated when he flipped the switch by the door, and he instantly regretted not picking up a little before he left.

Grabbing two coffee cups and a plate with half a three-day-old sandwich on it off the counter top, he rushed to the trash can and sink to dispose of the mess.

"Sorry. I wasn't exactly expecting company." Dear God, she's in my home!


Mena smiled. "Don't worry about it—"

Seeing a green hoodie and a pair of boxer shorts lying on the back of the recliner, he ran to grab them, but she was there, in front of him, staring up at his face like she was freaking happy to be here or something. He had to be dreaming. That couldn't be possible.

"Leave them, Alex," she whispered.

Still uncertain, he nervously glanced around, looking for more clutter to pick up. "It'll only take me a minute to tidy up. My apartment isn't that big. I don't have nearly as much space as you do. Then we can watch TV or… or something." He swallowed.

She grinned mischievously. "You want to watch TV?"

Holy shit, she was sexy when she smiled, he thought, and then gave a mental fist bump to Karma for helping him get Mena here where she belonged. She was safe here with him. He could protect her more than that damn club owner ever could. "Not particularly," he said in a husky whisper.

She raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Well, what else did you have in mind?"

As his eyes fell to those plump lips, she took the corner of her bottom lip between her teeth and chewed on it as she waited for his answer. She'd freak out if he told her what was really on his mind, and it was probably a good idea if she kept her eyes above his belt or the bastard behind his zipper wouldn't be as modest about telling her, with the way the damn thing was straining against the denim.