Daughter of the Tides, Servants of the Moon Book 2

Standing on a lovely warm shore near a large city meant nothing to the last Wemyss warrior wolf as he raged against the she-wolf who pushed him relentlessly toward a destiny he did not want.

“I’ll not be tricked into being something I am not and do not want to be.” Nyall snarled at her, but her eyes flashed white and his tattoos sizzled as moonlight rushed over them.

“Your belief in yourself is irrelevant. You promised to serve the Moon, sink or swim. Now, do your duty, Servant!” Del hissed, then she turned and stalked up the beach toward a busy road. She shouted back at him. “And you are not to attack them.”

He had no choice but to follow Del and Viktor. He eyed the ancient vampire suspiciously, but Viktor ignored his wolf’s growling. Del stopped by the road and in less than ten minutes a car with a flamboyant wolf stopped.

“Your chariot awaits, my Delphi,” the wolf grinned out the window.

Del climbed in the front passenger seat and leaned over to hug him. “Locks, I’ve missed you. How is semi-retirement?”

“Oh it’s the same as I expected, lots of beautiful clothes and beautiful beings, but not as beautiful as your friends.” Locksley eyed Viktor and Nyall in the mirror as he drove recklessly through the heavy traffic.

“Locksley, retired Servant, this is Viktor of Patmos a servant of the Augur Vampyr, and Nyall MacGeal of New Wemyss.” Del made the introductions without looking back.

Locksley’s eyes narrowed in interest. “Did you like the shirts and pants I sent you, Nyall?”

“Yes, thank you. They fit well.” Nyall responded politely.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get a proper set of measurements. You’ll love the fit of the next set,” Locksley promised.

“I got your note,” he growled. “I am sure Essie’s measurements were fine.”

Del smirked malevolently and tipped her head, “Oh, I think proper measurements are important. That would be just fine, Locks, when we get to your shop, measure away.”

Viktor coughed slightly and looked out the window as Locksley giggled like a schoolgirl. “You’re too good to me, Del darling.”

An hour later and after a quick shower and measurements that felt more like being groped, Nyall was standing calmly as the very feminine male wolf adjusted his brogues.

“Del darling, when Essie sent out the measurements and his picture months ago and said what you wanted for his wardrobe… I thought you must be mad, no wolf could be this big and beautiful, but, ehm hhmmmm, this one... oh, so much more gorgeous than all the photos and so much more than Essie’s numbers.” The wolf stood up and walked around him, then leaned over to whisper to her, “Is he really going to be monarch? ’Cause he can be the king of me anytime.”

Delilah laughed as she finished her makeup. “Aww, Locksley, Kaiyou is going to be so sad you found another to fawn over.”

“Well, that Shogunate never returns my calls, so I’ll just have to move on to something brighter and more beautiful.” Locksley looked Nyall up and down as though he were admiring a piece of art or cut of fresh meat.

Nyall made a disgruntled sound in his throat. “I am standing right here, ye do not need to talk about me like a trinket.”

“So grumpy,” Locksley pouted, “Maybe I’d have better luck with tall, pale, and please suck my blood.”

Del giggled, “Locks, you’re incorrigible.” She suddenly seemed so young and so like Essie that if Nyall couldn’t see her moon marks scrolling down her arms like vines, he would have wondered which sister was here.

Viktor walked in and Locksley gave a fake excited shiver as he glanced over the ancient vampire in the black on black Giovani Tuxedo. Viktor appraised him in a deeply resonate voice. “You are far too young and delicate for my preferences, clothier wolf.”

“The way he talks...” Locksley pretended to swoon. “Please Delphi, I was a good wolf this year, and I didn’t get anything nice for Solstice.”

“Sorry, but it just isn’t your night, Locks. Are we ready?” Delilah asked.

Nyall frowned, “I cannot shift easily in these brogues, perhaps I should wear a suit like Viktor.”

“You won’t need to shift tonight. The Des Rues won’t dare reveal their true selves in front of the Alphas, so you just need to let all the wolves we encounter feel your prestige. With me at your side, it will be enough, and while we face the enemy, Viktor can find the child,” Del insisted. “Thank you for the clothing, Servant Locksley.”

“As always, it is an honor to serve the Moon.”

She smiled as she hugged him, but Nyall wanted to groan when the wolf whispered, “If you get to be the cream filling between those two handsome cookies, you must send Essie with the details.”

Delilah started giggling again. “Oh Locks, you will forever confuse me with my sister.”

“Well, can I volunteer then?” He grinned cheekily. Viktor chuckled as Nyall groaned.

A car was waiting to take them to the marina and together, they walked with confidence toward the wolves at the end of a private dock. Delilah simply stopped before the guards and stared at them expectantly. When her eyes shimmered, they both stepped to the side, bowing deeply. Nyall followed her up the gang plank, but when he turned to look for Viktor, the vampire was gone. He tried to mind link Del and found he couldn’t.

As if sensing his question, Del spoke softly. “There is a witch here. Viktor went to deal with her and find the child. We need to mingle.”

They walked among the wolves, and Comhnyall found himself doing something his father had always said he shouldn’t need to do, he let his power as a wolf radiate off of him. He felt stronger than all of these Alphas and so did the Delphi. In her simple, palest blue to navy ombre sheath dress, she looked like she was clothed by the moon in the night sky. She was more beautiful than any she-wolf present. Every wolf there knew who she was intuitively and parted before her. They were on the edge of the dance floor when they finally encountered their host.

“You weren’t invited,” Alpha Helios of Des Rues growled at them. Del and Nyall turned as one.

“I am the Delphi, I do not require an invitation to any wolf gathering,” she answered.

Helios’ brother, Charlemagne, and their uncle Lothaire stood on his right and left. Charlemagne gaped at Delilah as though he had never seen someone so beautiful, but Lothaire had eyes only for Comhnyall. Delilah spoke before he would ask, she spoke loud enough for all to hear.

“Alphas of Des Rues, Wolves of the New World, allow me to present my companion, the last Alpha of the Wemyss Warrior Wolves.” Her voice resonated with power and moonlight.

For a moment, Comhnyall’s eyes shined with his wolf’s as he looked at those who had killed his pack. Only Del’s hand resting lightly on his arm kept him from attacking them. Several wolves bent their necks and a few even bowed to one knee. Many had heard the prophecy that the King would come from the first pack to dwell in this land. Helios growled.

“Easy, nephew, show respect,” Lothaire intoned quietly. To Delilah, he turned and bowed, “Delphi Ayala, we are honored by your presence. Please, have a dance with me.”

She nodded and took his arm, to Comhnyall she said in a low voice, “No killing them, Alpha of Wemyss.”

Nyall snarled in response to the admonishment but stayed where he was.

As she and Lothaire danced, Helios turned and stormed away with Charlemagne following. A few wolves drifted closer to and began to ask him about how he survived what happened to New Wemyss and Old Wemyss. Nyall repeated the fabrication, Elder Eliazar had created, saying he was at the Moon’s Gate with the Elder Oracle of Wemyss when the New Wemyss pack fell and they had stayed there.

“Why are you here, Delphi? Whom are you seeking?” Lothaire demanded as they danced.

“I am here because of the theft of a child, Lothaire Des Rues. You know all about attempting to steal children, don’t you?” She hissed as she smiled.

“There are no children on this ship. Now, whom are you seeking? Who is this Sun worshipping wolf you are travelling all about the world looking for?” He growled at her.

She almost stopped as she looked up at him surprised. “He is the one who wishes to destroy the worship of the Moon and then the world. He is death and ash and apostasy, and he walks in your pack. Tell me, Lothaire, what do you believe?”

He turned her and then pulled her close. Her eyes compelled the truth from him.

“I no longer know.” He was quiet for a moment then what he revealed surprised her. “I loved your mother, we had potential, but your father Jude was her true. After Chanteliese died, I hated the Moon, but I realized that I had brought the curse upon myself for not refusing my father and brothers.”

Del looked at him in sympathy, she could feel that in his soul he regretted many things. “Then pray to the Moon for a boon, and for forgiveness. Come away with me and fight the evil that will burn your family and all wolf kind if the faithful of the Goddess fail.”

He shook his head, “I cannot leave my pack to my nephews...” As the music ended, he ran the back of his hand along her cheek. “You are as beautiful as your mother, Delphi... I wonder...” He put his nose to her neck and smelled her, she smelled like moonlight and fresh snow.

Suddenly, she was retched from his embrace. The last of the Wemyss Warrior Wolves stood glaring at him with hard blue eyes.

“You will not, grope and sniff the Delphi like some kind of dog, Beta Des Rues.” The young warrior looked as if he was about to shift while he stood with his hands on the Delphi’s shoulders.

Lothaire appraised him calmly and knew in a fight, he would meet the Moon at this wolf’s claws. In a low calm voice, he responded, “I simply wished to see if she smelled of moonlight like her mother, pup. There are few things in this world I truly regret, the death of her mother is the greatest one of them.”

Nyall’s growl vibrated the air around them, “And what of the death of my pack and my mate?”

“Easy, Comhnyall. This is the one the Moon said you must spare,” Delilah said in a low voice.

As the golden warrior stared at him trembling with rage, Lothaire forced himself to look at the Delphi. “What did you say?”

“The Moon said you were to be spared for your destiny to be fulfilled and so you may find what you lost.”

Lothaire swallowed, forcing himself to ask, “And what did I lose, Delphi?”

A commotion had them turning. Instead of answering, Delilah rushed to the aft deck followed closely by Nyall and Lothaire. Viktor was standing holding the vampire child as Helios snarled at him. Nyall reacted immediately and punched Helios in the back of the head dropping him to the deck. Del held out her arms and took the child from Viktor. She waved her hand toward the Moon and a line of glowing water formed then pooled into a fluorescent eddy behind the boat.

Delilah turned and faced the wolves with glowing eyes, “Soon the time of testing will come to you all, you will have to make a choice; whom will you follow? But until then your goddess will still take you back. Will you follow the Sun or the Moon? Choose wisely, war is only a few seasons away.”

She turned her moon-glowing eyes to Helios, who was struggling to rise. “After this night, you will no longer be allowed to burn the blood of the Shadow-walkers, Apostate.”

Then she stepped off into the swirling, glowing water. Viktor bowed calmly and said, “After you, your majesty.”

Snarling over his shoulder at the Des Rues, Comhnyall jumped into the water and was carried away from sight.

“Why did you call him that, he is not your king?” Charlemagne demanded as he helped his brother to stand.

Viktor eyed the youngest Des Rues Alpha coolly, “No, but he is the Moon’s chosen to be yours, wolf.” Then he jumped into the water too.

Several wolves rushed forward as if to follow the three, but the glow vanished and only the sea reflecting the moon remained.