Dark Moon Boys (Love, Lust & Magic #2)

Griff

“Let me see your arm,” Haven coaxed the witch to draw near. In response, lowered himself to the turf, extending his left arm so that the werewolf might take it. “I promise you, this won’t hurt for more than a minute.”

was lost in thought even as he felt Haven’s warm hands on his skin. Pruitt was gone now, and his plan had failed. What he had told him would come to be never did. Uriah was gone now, too. Though the powers of his witch line flowed through him, they corrupted and toyed with his emotions. Perhaps, he thought to himself, this is the ultimate irony: by invoking my evil ancestor, she finally wins. Is she subconsciously controlling me, or am I accepting defeat? Accepting the next best thing?

tried to recall the faces of Pruitt, of Uriah—but he no longer could. He remembered their love, but could no longer feel it. The new power inside him numbed his emotions.

?in Eugene, listen to me. I’m right here. I’m coming to you.? turned just as Uriah appeared by his side, his face full of worry.

“Don’t let him do this, !” Uriah shouted, knocking Haven to the ground with a punch. “I have something you need.”

“ Stay out of this! ” an otherworldly voice rang out from ’s mouth. With the flick of the witch’s arm, Uriah was sent to his knees.

“Ugh!” Uriah hollered in pain. “, remember what I told you. I love you.”

“Love? Love is what brought us here,” solemnly replied. “ What brought us death, destruction, chaos .”

“Come on! Come back to me, little witch,” Uriah wept. “I-I can’t lose you, too. Look at me. Just look.”

Hesitant at first, looked down at the vampire and studied his face. The flood of emotions was nearly too much, and it sent electricity flying out of his fingers, aimlessly striking the ground nearby.

“ I-I got lost ,” said, a greater realization dawning on him.

“Remember our love,” Uriah pleaded, holding out the Moonstone Medallion for to take. “T-tell me something you remember.”

“I remember being scared,” said , his eyes remaining a deep purple. “Remember violence. Fighting. Death. Ever since I’ve known you, there’s been death.”

“What we offer is life eternal,” Luna’s voice spoke through Haven as he once again approached . “No more pain.”

“No more pain,” repeated.

“Pain is a part of love, too,” acknowledged Uriah. “Don’t you remember?”

“Foolish vampire,” Luna’s voice flowed from Haven’s mouth. “He can’t even remember your name. His new power has overtaken his core processing. He belongs with me.”

“Remember,” whispered, as though trying to concentrate. “ Remember. ”

“Remember,” Uriah nodded. “, Old Mother Madge told me that you’re destined to protect this world, not destroy it.”

“I-I remember,” muttered, closing his eyes and looking down.

“There’s nothing to remember, baby,” Haven’s own voice returned as he stepped closer, his werewolf fangs protruding from his mouth. “I’ll give you all you need.”

“My powers—they make me immune to the bite of the werewolf,” replied .

“But not immune to Luna’s parasitic control,” Uriah added.

“I-I’m part of The Triad,” continued, his body shaking as he closed his eyes and concentrated. “Werewolf, vampire, and witch.”

Haven chuckled nervously. “No way, darling.”

turned to Uriah, his eyes opening once again. The vampire’s voice filled his head. ?Those—those are the eyes I fell in love with.?

swallowed hard. “ I remember .”

“What do you remember?” Uriah asked.

“Uriah Elias Black, I love you.”

Uriah’s face beamed.

turned to Haven, looking past him and up to Luna. “ And I remember you, too .”

“The necklace. Take it!” shouted Uriah.

The Moonstone Medallion flew from Uriah’s hand into ’s. As dirt and dust kicked up around him, the witch quickly placed it over his neck. The scythe landed back in ’s hands as a mini cyclone lifted him off the ground.

“The King of Wolves has risen,” said , an array of colors flowing through his eyes. “And now it is time that my queen be judged for her crimes. First, she shall be stripped of all magical powers.”

“ What!? No! ” Luna shouted in her gruff wolf voice, backing up as the surrounding werewolves howled in agreement. “The prophecy says we rule together. ”

“Indeed it does,” replied . As the queen watched him approach, she saw his face melt away into that of the one in Pruitt’s dreams; of Theodulf. “Your powers, or should I say my powers, were gifted to you out of love, out of sympathy, out of hope for a better world for werewolves. Not to be corrupted.”

“Dark Moon Clan, stop him! He perverts the very title of the King of Wolves!” Luna commanded, but the wolves surrounding her had other plans.

“You heard the king,” Haven said, turning to face his captor with a determined look on his face. “The queen has betrayed her vows to protect and promote peace and unity.”

“What?!” Luna exclaimed. “But I am the megawolf.”

“The queen must die,” Haven and the rest of the wolves repeated in unison.

“Your death won’t be in vain, Luna Dark Moon,” continued , sliding the dull end of the scythe against the tip of his finger. “Think of it as trading one lycan for another.”

The Dark Moon clan pounced on Luna, biting at her legs and ripping at her flesh.

“No!” Luna panicked, kicking off wolves as she backed up, looking for an escape. “Bringing you back was a mistake.”

“ Your mistake , my queen,” replied as he lunged forward, the force of the cyclone flinging him so fast that Luna could hardly react. The sound of the scythe swinging through the air rang out through the burning arena. Those around him watched with shock and surprise as steadied the bloody weapon in his hand.

Luna made eye contact with him, looking as though she might cry. “ When the time comes, you’ll wish it was me who killed you ,” she managed before her head fell from her body, tumbling to the ground like a small boulder.

As rejoined Uriah and Haven on the ground, every werewolf on the field transformed back into their human forms. Looks of confusion, of wonder, of praise were painted across the faces of the Dark Moon Boys as , hand-in-hand with Uriah and Haven, made his way to the force field.

“Now!” Quinn commanded, the field disappearing entirely.

“, I don’t know if he—” Uriah stepped in front of as though to prevent him from seeing Pruitt.

“Shh,” pressed his finger against the vampire’s lips. Uriah stood speechless as stepped past him, kneeling to meet Pruitt.

The dozens of bats restraining Pruitt joined together in one ball, revealing the lone Windsling, who chirped before landing on ’s shoulder.

“Thank you for your service, old friend,” spoke in a soft voice as he rubbed the bat’s ears. “It’s been far too long.”

“, y-you have to believe me when I say it wasn’t me in control when this happened,” Haven said with tears in his eyes as the group surrounded Pruitt’s lifeless body.

“As it was done with magic, so shall it be undone with magic,” said , putting his hands on Pruitt’s chest. “My gift of immortality has been extended to every living werewolf, including those resurrected this night by Luna Dark Moon. And that’s immortality with an asterisk, for future reference .”

“Theodulf?” Pruitt opened his eyes to see every survivor of the battle swarming him, anxious looks on their faces. But there was one he recognized immediately. “Theodulf, is that you?”

“Just for a moment,” replied . “Your witch—who is safe and sound inside—used the power of the medallion to invoke me.”

“H-how is he alive?” Fen asked in disbelief. “It was his death that brought you back.”

“Funny thing about prophecies,” answered . “ Those that write them get to make the rules. ”

Like he was rescued from a near-drowning, Darcy’s nearby body shook as his lungs filled with air.

“Oh, damn!” Quinn shouted, turning around to see Darcy coughing as his eyelids flickered. The professor turned to Old Mother Madge with fresh eyes. “Guess you were right.”

“Told you so,” Old Mother Madge winked as she moved quickly to tend to Darcy.

“Thank you for giving me another chance,” said Pruitt, grabbing ’s hand. “I’ll never be able to repay you.”

“Oh, you will,” said with a smile as Uriah pulled Pruitt into a tight embrace.

“I owe you, too, Theodulf.” Haven leaned in, grabbing ’s hands. “What can I do?”

smiled.