His Lucky Moon Mate (The Macconwood Pack Tales #14)

Chapter 10

A nger coursed through Binder as he stood by Shannon’s side, after they’d both dressed, she in the bathroom, and him right there. Someone had to keep an eye on her shifty father. He didn’t know much about Leprechauns but so far, all the stereotypes seemed true.

His beady eyes roamed over the cabin, like he was trying to figure out where she’d hidden the cauldron. Meanwhile, Shannon was giving him hell for what he did, and good for her. The tiny bastard deserved it.

“You’ve got no call to be cross with me, Shannon Rose, haven’t I protected you all these years? Now look at what you’ve done! We have to leave here now, child. Get the cauldron and let’s go,” her father said, and Binder had to give him credit. He seemed sincere about the going part, at least.

“We won’t be getting nothing until you tell me what you did with the funds to pay our employees, Da! You know, you told me you’d fixed everything with the Macconwood Pack,” Shannon accused.

She sounded hurt, and Binder knew from their bond that she was feeling tumultuous emotions at the hands of her blasted father. In turn, that made Binder upset. He wanted to let his Wolf out. If he let his beast take over, they’d be done with the tiny pest for good. But likely, Shannon would not be okay with him eating her father.

He sighed, and her blue gaze flicked to his. Her hair was still long and down, back in the same loose braid she wore last night before he claimed her. Fuck, but she was beautiful. So soft and sweet and perfect. But she was no pushover, as he was clearly getting a first row seat to witness.

He liked that she was tough on her father, whom she obviously loved despite things being what they were. But who was Binder to question that? His family was loud, boisterous, and messy as ever. His siblings and he had made quite the stir growing up as Wolf pups. Damn, he thought of Shannon swollen with their own young and his heart started beating like mad all over again.

“What?” she asked while her father held his head in his hands muttering stuff and nonsense.

“Do you want children?” he asked, pleased when her cheeks went pink.

“Aye, with you, I do,” she whispered. “Oh, but it’s not easy for Fae sometimes?—”

“It will be okay, Shannon. I love you,” he said, kissing her hand.

Just then, her father erupted like a long dormant volcano. He jumped out of his chair and onto the table, beady eyes black with rage as he pointed at Binder and howled at Shannon like a banshee wailing.

“No! None of this. You must not say such things to my Shannon Rose! And you, stupid child, you must leave this place. Now!”

Binder was hanging onto his Wolf by a thread. He leaned over, hands flat on the table, and snarled at the old Leprechaun, the sound threatening even to his ears. He was trying to be respectful. Trying to stay in his lane and let Shannon handle her business. But he would tolerate no blatant disrespect. He couldn’t.

“Binder, it’s fine—” she began, but his rising snarl cut her off.

“No, it is not fine, Butterfly. He can’t talk to you like that,” he told her gently before turning his attention back to her Da. “Listen old man, I hate to break it to you—nah, fuck that. I take great pleasure in breaking it to you, but she’s not yours to worry about anymore. Shannon is my mate. Don’t tell her what to do,” Binder growled.

“I am trying to protect her, you fool. There is something you need to know, Shannon, I beg you not hate me?—”

But Keegan never did get to finish his sentence. Just then, a tremendous gust of wind hit the cabin sideways, blasting through the door and shattering the windowpanes. Binder grabbed Shannon, protecting her with his body as debris rained down on them from every which way.

“What is happening?” she screamed over the noise.

“Oh no,” her Da said. “He’s here! He’s found ya!”

“Who is here? What are you talking about, Da?” Shannon asked, still yelling over the howling wind.

“I believe he means me, Princess Mariposa,” the sharp voice of a stranger filled the air quite suddenly.

And in that moment, everything stopped. The roaring wind just ceased and all the debris floating around plummeted to the ground. Binder eased his hold on Shannon, turning so she was behind him. He felt her stand, her small hands clutching his shirt.

“No, my Lord, please, she does not know,” her father said, stumbling out from under a heavy wood panel.

He had bruises on his face and was bleeding from at least one scrape. Binder frowned. Her father was not his favorite person, but he hated seeing him hurt. Especially because it would hurt Shannon.

“Da, are you okay?” she asked, moving away from Binder, but he clasped her hands firmly on his body and held her in place.

Binder was not from Fairy. He was a lawyer from New Jersey. A simple Werewolf, but he was not stupid. He trusted his instincts, and there was something about this stranger that was not right. Thunderclouds loomed overhead, and the gentle though mystical forest they’d walked through the previous evening was replaced by something dark and menacing.

The air stank of ozone and preternatural energy. Finally, the fog surrounding the owner of that sharp voice came into view. He was coldly beautiful, Binder acknowledged with a growl. The Fae Lord had gray skin and silver hair that hung down to his knees. He wore a richly embroidered tunic over thick velvet leggings and knee high boots covered in silver scales.

“Please, my Lord. She does not know!” her father wailed again, dropping to his knees in front of the Fae.

The Fae’s sharp silver gaze narrowed at Shannon’s father, and with a quietly muttered word, the Leprechaun levitated. Binder held onto Shannon who would have run right to her father, but whatever magic the Fae Lord wielded, it did not look friendly. Her father groaned, eyes squeezed tight as if he were in pain.

“Stop it,” Binder growled. “You are hurting him.”

“Who is this dog? He thinks to speak to me ? I will forgive this error, for I have not made my introductions. Call me Silver, Lord of these lands, Bringer of Thunder, and Bearer of the Star Blade,” he said, making a small bow as he brandished a deadly looking sword.

“I don’t give a fuck who you are,” Binder replied. “Let my mate’s father go.”

“Mate?”

The Fae’s eyes snapped from Binder’s to Shannon’s, then to her father’s. He snarled angrily in a language Binder did not understand. But he did not have to speak the tongue to know they were in danger.

“Da, what did you do?” Shannon whispered, her tears wetting his shirt.

“Your father placed a wager, my dear. A wager he lost,” the Fae said, his eyes shining with glee and perhaps a touch of madness.

“What does that have to do with Shannon?” Binder asked, a sneaking suspicion growing inside him like a weed.

He gritted his teeth, posture defensive as he tried to find a safe way out of this mess for his mate. He had teeth and claws, that was true, but this Fae Lord had magic. And they weren’t exactly in Maccon City anymore. Shit. What the hell was her father thinking?

“I made a mistake, Shannon. It was long ago,” Keegan explained to his daughter, grimacing as the Fae kept him firmly in the grips of his evil magic.

And it was evil.

Binder recognized the stink of it now. Like sulfur and ash. He crouched slightly, ready to defend his mate against Silver, the Fae Lord, as he stalked closer. His gaze was intent upon him, clearly a threat. But Binder could not reach his Wolf. Yes, he growled and snarled, but the animal was not responding.

“He really did not tell you, did he, Princess Mariposa?” the Fae murmured, looking past Binder to gaze upon Shannon.

Fuck this guy. Tear his eyes out of his head for looking at what’s ours.

But that was his Wolf’s answer. Binder had to think. He had to use his brain and not simply react, or it could cost him more than he was willing to pay. It could cost him her.

Fuck no. Never that.

“Your father was quite the gambler in his youth, Princess.”

“Why are you calling me that?”

“Do you not know of your mother, child? She was the last of the royal house of the Mariposa. How she allowed this cretin to seduce her, I do not know. But he stole her from me. He brought his carnival of games of chance, and he stole her. But I took my revenge?—”

“D-didn’t know it was you—agh!” her father cried out.

“Yes, I was in disguise when I came to play his Lucky Moon games. Twenty thousand suns must have risen and fallen since then, and now the time has come to collect my prize. You, Princess. You are mine!”

Rage simmered beneath Binder’s glare as he turned his body, blocking Shannon from the hated Fae’s stare. He could not believe this arrogant prick really thought she was something he could simply win. She was more than that. So much more. And that motherfucker was not going to lay one long-nailed finger on her.

Not as long as there was breath in Binder’s body.

“No! That is where you are wrong. Shannon Rose is my mate. I have already claimed her with my bite and my bond.”

“You have bedded her? Then I shall rid you from this realm and cover your mark with mine,” Silver, the Fae Lord, sneered.

“Over my dead body,” Binder growled, his chest huffing with anger and the primordial need to protect.

“That can be arranged!” the Fae shouted, hands up and gaze locked.

Binder felt the first tendrils of his magical attack striking at his skin and he snarled, determined to live through it. He felt his hold on his human form slip. His Wolf was there, just below the surface, but something was wrong. He did not feel the same.

“Stop it! STOP!” Shannon shouted, moving to Binder’s side.

“Dammit, Butterfly, get behind me,” he grunted.

“No! He will kill you! We have to give him something else to focus on,” she hissed, and Binder blinked.

Bloody hell. She was right. Until he could reach his Wolf, he was vulnerable. They all were. The Fae cocked his head to the side, looking more animal than humanoid. He dropped Shannon’s father from his magical hold on to the hard ground. The Leprechaun landed with a thud.

“Da!”

“Look upon me, Princess. Yes, you are plump but fair, very fair,” he murmured, and Binder snapped.

“Shut your fucking mouth,” Binder hissed between clenched teeth.

“No, stop!” Shannon raised her hands between them, warding both men off. “Lord Silver, you made a wager with my Da a long time ago for my hand, but I must insist he had no rights to that claim. But, if you would now make a wager with me,” Shannon said, and Binder snarled.

“Why would I do that for a prize that is already mine?” Silver asked.

“Because I was never my father’s to wager,” Shannon said, her voice strong. “I am my own person. You can’t force me to love you.”

“What does love have to do with it? You are one of the last Mariposa Fairies in the realm, and you belong in my court. I would shower you, Fair One, with jewels and sweets, anything you desire,” he said, his voice designed to seduce.

Binder growled. His simmering rage reached a steady boil. Yes, he wanted to give Shannon time to try to reason with the Fae Lord, but he could not bear to listen to this fucker try to convince her to stay with him. Perhaps actions would speak louder.

“All fathers hold rights to their children in Fairy, Princess. Your argument is null. Now, come with me quietly or I will kill your father and the Wolf.”

Binder watched Shannon’s eyes fill with dread, and that was all he could stand. He couldn’t let this asshole have her. Not now. Not ever.

Man the fuck up, Wolf, I need you , he growled inside his head, trusting his animal to listen when it counted.

“Are you a righteous Fae?” Binder asked, stopping the bastard in his tracks.

“You dare impugn my honor?”

“Yeah, I dare.”

“How would you like to die, Wolf?” Silver asked, pointing his sword at Binder.

“In my bed with my loved ones around me a hundred years from today,” he replied, grinning at the now angry as fuck Fae.

Something happened to his glamor as his ire rose. The Fae Lord’s skin was pockmarked and riddled with scars. His teeth glowed green, his eyes were black as pitch, and his hair was no longer illustrious and beautiful.

“Most things here are an illusion, Binder,” Shannon whispered.

“Quiet female,” Silver hissed.

“Don’t talk to her again. In fact, no more talking at all. You said you were honorable, but you hide your true form behind magic. Face me, Silver, show me who you really are.”

“Are you challenging me, dog?” he whispered.

“I am. Shannon Rose is my mate, but more than that she is a free being. After I am finished with you, you will forgive this debt of her father’s, and you will relinquish your claim on her. No one here has any claim to any part of her unless she says so. That’s just basic human fucking rights.”

“We are not human here, dog. But I accept your challenge. Begin,” he said and snapped his fingers.

It happened faster than Binder could have ever anticipated. Thunder and lightning attacked him from the skies as Silver wielded his sword, hacking at him like he was a fucking log on a stump. Pain lanced up his arm as he blocked blow after blow, calling for his Wolf.

“Binder!” shouted Shannon.

Binder watched as Silver blurred to where she kneeled by her Da. The Fae appeared no worse for wear, and he paused in front of her his un-glamoured face hideous as his soul. The vile pig put his hands on her face, bent down, and stole a kiss. Or a lick. Whatever the fuck. He had touched Binder’s mate. Then Silver shoved her, and Shannon fell back on the unforgiving ground.

And. Binder. Went. Crazy.

Grrrrr.