Page 80 of Moonlight & Mayhem

Moon had made two mistakes. The first was believing Morrigan might be the most dangerous thing waiting for them in Black Hollow. The second was getting out of the SUV. The forest exploded as wolves poured from between the trees. There were too many to count.

Moon barely had time to register them before Mayhem shoved her behind him. “Stay back.” She almost laughed. He was bleeding through his shirt, poisoned with something that was slowly trying to take over his wolf, and he still thought he was going to protect her.

“Mayhem—” she started. Gunfire erupted around them. Christmas fired first as a wolf came charging from the left, dropped hard, and slid across the road. Chrome fired beside her. Another wolf went down. Moon reached for her own weapon, and Mayhem glanced back.

“Do not shift,” he ordered.

She stared at him. “You're telling me not to shift?”

“Yeah,” he said.

“You're the one who almost dies when you shift,” she said. A wolf launched itself from the trees, and Mayhem fired. The animal twisted in midair and crashed onto the pavement. More wolves came, and Moon’s wolf surged. She was shouting at her to fight, but Moon fought the shift.

Chrome moved beside Christmas. “Back up.”

Chris fired again. “I've got it.”

“Christmas,” Chrome warned.

“I said I've got it,” she hissed. A wolf came from her blind side, and Chrome caught it before it reached her. He didn't have time to fire. He simply moved. One second he was a man, and the next, a massive dark wolf hit the attacking animal broadside.

Christmas stumbled backward. “Chrome!” The two wolves rolled across the road. They were a mesh of teeth, claws, and blood. Moon's heart stopped as she remembered her vision of Chris beside her bike in the snow with blood on her hands and Chrome behind her. No, not behind her—with her.

“Chris!” Moon shouted. Christmas turned, and Moon pointed. “On your right!” Chris fired, and another wolf dropped. Mayhem grabbed Moon around the waist and dragged her backward as teeth snapped inches from her arm.

“Pay attention,” he shouted.

“I am,” she insisted.

“To yourself,” he drawled. “You were watching Christmas and not keeping an eye out for your own safety.”

“She—” Moon started.

“Can take care of herself,” he cut her off.

Chris fired again. “Damn right I can.”

Mayhem stared at her. “How the fuck did she hear that?”

Moon almost laughed as another howl cut through the night. “ENOUGH!” someone shouted. The single word carried through the forest, and every wolf stopped. Moon froze, and so did Mayhem. The attacking wolves backed away, slowly retreating with their heads lowered.

Chrome remained in wolf form beside Christmas, blood coating his muzzle. Chris had one hand buried in the fur on his shoulder. Moon felt as though she was holding her breath while watching them. The image was painfully familiar. It wasn’t exactly her vision, but it was close—too close.

Morrigan stepped into the road. The woman looked different up close. She was older than Moon had expected—maybe in her late fifties or early sixties. Silver streaked through her long dark hair, but it wasn't the same silver that marked Moon's. Morrigan's looked ordinary.

Mayhem moved closer to Moon until his body touched hers, allowing the night root to quiet. “Don't trust her,” he murmured.

“I don't,” she agreed.

Morrigan looked around at the wolves. “Back,” she shouted. Several growled, and the older woman’s expression hardened. “I said back.” They obeyed her, and Moon frowned. That didn't fit because these were supposed to be the wolves who no longer followed Morrigan's orders.

Mayhem apparently had the same thought. “You said they weren't listening to you,” he said to Morrigan.

Morrigan looked at him. “They aren't.”

Mayhem gestured toward the wolves. “Looks like they’re listening to you now.”

“For now, they are,” she said. That wasn’t very reassuring. Morrigan turned toward Moon. “You shouldn't have come.”