Marked by the Moon (Nightcreature 9)

A chill passed over Julian that had nothing to do with his standing buck naked in the middle of the Arctic. “And in return?” he asked.

“I lose my tail.”

Julian blew out a derisive breath. “Edward’s not going to cure you. He’s going to keep you. You’re the perfect spy. Hell, I trusted you.”

Her mouth trembled. “I know.”

He wasn’t sure if she was commenting on Edward’s duplicity or Julian’s trust, then decided it didn’t matter.

“So,” Cade said, “okay if I kill her now?”

“No.”

Cade’s eyebrows lifted. “You want to?”

Julian rubbed his forehead. “No.”

“Well, I’m not going to fight you until she’s dead.”

“I’m not going to fight you at all.”

“That’ll make it easier.”

“You can’t let him win,” Alex said urgently. “He’ll treat the Inuit like animals, chase them through the wilderness and hunt them down like…”

“Prey,” Cade murmured. “Great idea. I just figured I’d have my very own human farm. I could pick and choose what I’d like for dinner. But the werewolf version of ‘The Most Dangerous Game’ would be a lot more fun.”

“You think my wolves will stand for that?” Julian asked. “No one likes to kill but you.”

“They’ll do what I say.” He spread the fingers of the hand that wasn’t holding the knife. “Once you’re dead.”

“Will they?” Julian murmured, and his wolves emerged like an army from the trees.

Chapter 27

Julian had felt them coming. He’d known they were there. He always did. They were a part of each other, between them a connection that only death would break.

The werewolves stood in a semicircle, human eyes peering at Cade from two hundred lupine faces.

Cade began to sweat. Killing Alex? No problem. Fighting Julian? Once Alex was dead and he was writhing, not much of a challenge, either. But facing two hundred werewolves?

“Not so easy now,” Alex murmured.

Cade began to babble. “She’s a spy. She’ll tell the Jäger-Suchers where we are. And he—” Cade pointed at Julian with the knife. “He won’t let you be what you were born to be. Werewolves kill. It’s what we do best. You’ve never lived until you’ve scented their fear, then tasted their blood.”

“Dumb-ass,” Alex said.

Julian knew exactly what she was thinking—and when had that started? Cade had just admitted his crimes to the jury of his peers.

Every gaze swung to Julian, and when they did, Cade made a break for it. He dropped the knife; he started to run. Before he’d gone ten yards, he was a wolf.

Julian didn’t want to kill him, but rules were rules, and Cade had broken them. It didn’t matter that he was Julian’s brother. He was still a psychotic, murdering werewolf, which meant that he must die. Julian closed his eyes, and he reached for the change.

“Julian,” Alex whispered, her voice full of wonder and fear.

He opened his eyes just as a ghastly, grisly howl cut through the night.

The two of them stood all alone beneath the moon.