Midnight Moonrising (Moonrising #2)(9)

I let my gaze fall back on the handsome man, but swallowed and asked her the question Phoenix had asked me. "How many are there?"

Her brow drew down in thought for a moment, and then she smiled. "I think there were twenty-seven at the last count—"

"Twenty-seven!" I shouted as I shot to my feet.

Silence filled the room and, as I turned, I realized that there was a look of shock on every face in the room. Good. I was glad I wasn't the only one stunned.

Twenty-seven? Did that many always compete for the position of Beta? I almost laughed as a thought came to mind. Phoenix had nearly lost his mind when he had thought there were eight. Now… twenty-seven! Wow. I seriously couldn't wait to tell him. I would have sent him a message, but I really wanted to see the look on his face.


And what would they all have to do, just give me a gift to let me know they are interested and then wait for me to choose one of them? Hmmm…

My fingers slid along the soft wood of the chair arm, and I sat back down. "I'm terribly sorry."

Sandy-haired guy was looking at me with wide eyes, as if he was thinking of changing his mind and keeping the gift, but he quickly bowed his head and held the dress up higher.

I sighed as I took the dress, noticing instantly that it was a formal gown, and that the material it had been made of was beautiful.

"What is your name?" I said, my voice surprisingly steady.

"My name is Roel, Pack Leader."

I smiled. "You can call me Mena, Roel, and I accept your gift."



V''''V



Phoenix





The smell of stale beer, cigarettes and cheap whiskey did little to cover up the smell of death in the air.

Phoenix had been around long enough to learn how to avoid killing his prey, so the scent drifting in through his nostrils was a bit offensive to his senses.

Rounding the bar, he saw a wild mess of red curls in one of the booths, and nodded to Jaxon to go make sure Lexi was okay, and to find out what she knew.

Jaxon left without saying a word.

There was a quick flash of light and, as Phoenix turned his head, he caught sight of a brown-headed guy of average height and muscular build looking down at what could be the only reason he had been summoned here tonight. This had to be the famous Detective Rhodes he'd heard so much about lately.

As if the guy could feel someone staring at him, he turned his head, and hazel eyes focused on Phoenix. The guy didn't smile. He looked exhausted, but Phoenix knew the guy probably still had a long night ahead of him.

"Detective Rhodes," Phoenix said as he held out his hand. "Phoenix Mahoney."

Alex gave Phoenix's hand two solid pumps as he shook his head. "Alex or Rhodes is fine by me. I try to avoid the cop tag when I can. I just like solving mysteries." He looked down at the open, but unseeing eyes of the girl sprawled out on Hellhound's dance floor. "Like this one."

There were two more quick flashes of light from the camera man, and Phoenix's attention was drawn to the girl. His fingers curled into tight fists, and his vampire blood began to rush through his veins when he saw the cause of death. The four inch hilt of a dagger was protruding from the center of the girl's chest, and it wasn't just any dagger; it was his dagger, the exact one Mena said her wolves had destroyed. How the hell was it here, and in the heart of a human?

He grabbed for his cell phone, but stopped after his fingers pulled her number up. Texting her was a bad idea. She was with her pack, and if he told her that someone in her pack was trying to frame her or him for murder, that could cause her big problems if she told the wrong person. Besides, Alex was looking at him again.

Phoenix cleared the screen then slid the device back into his pocket.

"Lexi's a mess," Jaxon said as he stepped up beside Phoenix and nodded to the detective. "I can take her home if you're finished with her."

Alex shrugged. "She can go. I have her number, but I doubt she'll be able to tell me anything else. She was at the bar getting drinks when it happened. Nobody is saying anything. The club was crowded and loud, and then there was a dead girl on the dance floor all of a sudden. Over half the possible witnesses hit the door running before anyone even called 911."

The bright light flashed one last time as Jaxon walked away, and the guy behind the camera looked up. "I'm done here, Rhodes. I'll get them to you first thing in the morning."

"Thanks," Alex said, and then nodded to the coroner, letting him know it was his turn to party. "I want to send that dagger to lab as soon as possible. Maybe we'll get lucky and there'll be a print on it."

The coroner moved in with a body bag, but all Phoenix could think about was killing everyone in the room so he could grab that dagger and get the hell out of there. Mena's, as well as his prints would be on it. Too many people had seen him come in Hellhound, so that was out of the question. Maybe he could cause the coroner to have a wreck and take it from the body then.

He took out his cell again and texted Jaxon: Get the dagger!





Chapter 6



Mena





The night had been thrilling and utterly exhausting. After accepting the offerings from all twenty-seven men and women interested in becoming my Beta, they had agreed that they had put me through enough torture for the night, and allowed Daryn to take me home.