Dark Moon Falls: Cade Read online

  “Cade, back off. We need to find Ivy and get the hell out of here.” Ezra motioned for Cade to follow him.

  They searched every nook, every corner of the house, and found nothing. Each new room they entered seemed to piss Cade off even more. He couldn’t even begin to fathom how Joseph and Madeline could live with themselves. How they could knowingly put their daughter in harm’s way. Parents should protect their children—always. No matter the cost.

  “You won’t find Ivy here. I already told you that. Now, your mother and I have been more than accommodating on this little mission of yours. Your sister just got home from college, I’m sure she’s safe with some friends who she hasn’t seen in a long time.”

  “If that were the case, Cade would still be able to contact her. He would be able to feel her presence,” Ezra said.

  “Maybe the reason he can’t sense her is because he’s not really her mate. Maybe this whole mating thing between them is nothing more than a farce. For all we know, that three-legged mutt just wants access to your sister’s trust fund,” Madeline said, crossing her arms over her chest.

  The smug, defiant look on her face was enough to make Cade see red. How he’d ever seen her as a perfect and loving mother, he had no idea. All he wanted to do was throttle her—make her tell the truth about what had happened to Ivy.

  “That’s it, isn’t it?” Ezra demanded.

  “What?” Madeline asked.

  “The trust fund. It’s why Jonas agreed to your deal. Isn’t it? Because if he mates with and marries Ivy, he gets one hell of a payday.”

  “Ezra, honey, what are you talking about?” Madeline asked.

  Another piece of the puzzle opened up for Cade. It had to be about the money. Why else would Jonas even agree to such a deal? Rumors were rampant about how he liked young lovers. How he used and abused them.

  “Stop acting like I don’t know what the two of you are up to.” Ezra pointed at his parents.

  12

  Cade had wanted to stay and search for Ivy or beat the answer out of Joseph and Madeline. Either would have worked, but Ezra demanded they go. Apparently he had another plan in store, although Cade had no fucking clue as to what it could possibly be. It was probably for the best, had Cade stayed, things would have gotten ugly.

  “Why are we leaving? Ivy is there. Somewhere. I know she is. My wolf can feel her presence inside the house,” Cade growled as he leaned against his truck and strapped his prosthetic back on.

  He wanted to charge right back in there and demand answers. Not that it did much good last time. Thanks to not being able to shift back to human form and talk to the Winters, he didn’t have much to go on. Ezra had asked the questions, sure. But his parents did nothing but lie every time they opened their damn mouths.

  “Because we aren’t going to find her there. My mother didn’t lie about that.”

  “What do you mean? She’s there somewhere. I could smell her all through the house.”

  It was the weirdest thing. Normally, his wolf could follow a person’s scent in and out of a building, but not with Ivy. He’d picked up her scent entering and all through the house, but it was like she’d never left.

  “I don’t get it. It doesn’t add up. Ivy should have been there. Every instinct in my body told me she was there—to keep looking. We searched all over and didn’t find so much as a single hair belonging to Ivy. Yet my nose tells me that she never left. That she was there somewhere. Like there was something shielding her from our view. How is that even possible?”

  “It’s a cloaking spell. It has to be. It’s the only thing that even makes sense,” Ezra said, running his fingers through his hair.

  “Why would they do that?”

  “So we couldn’t find her. It’s perfect, really. My mom went above and beyond this time with her treachery by enlisting the help of a witch. She needs to keep Ivy safe until they deliver her to Jonas, and they certainly don’t want her taking off with either one of us. If we found her there, under their control, we would have taken her. They can’t risk that.”

  “Damn right I would. I can’t believe this is even happening.”

  “Sadly, I can. I’ve known for years about their questionable friends and shady business dealings. I just never thought they’d stoop to this level.”

  “So, now what do we do?” Cade asked. His thoughts growing darker by the second.

  “I’m not sure yet, but what I do know is that without Ivy, their entire plan falls apart. I didn’t think they’d go this far. I knew they had every intention of handing her over to Jonas to settle their debt, but to hold her against her will, knowing she’s already been claimed by her mate?”

  “You know, my grandmother always used to say, ‘Desperate people do desperate things’. I never understood that saying as a child. Not until I joined the military and fought in a war. The shit I saw there—what I lived through. I never wanted to see humans or shifters act that way toward one another ever again. I thought coming back to Dark Moon Falls would be peaceful.”

  Ezra sighed.

  Cade hadn’t expected a response. Someone who had never been on the battlefield couldn’t be expected to understand the depravity of humans unless they’d witnessed it firsthand, and it wasn’t like Cade had ever spoken to Ezra about the horrific things he’d seen. Death on a scale that grand would be shocking to even the most vicious apex predator. The hum of an overhead drone. Villages blown into extinction with the click of a button from thousands of miles away. The stench of burning flesh still haunted him years later.

  “We will get Ivy back,” Ezra declared.

  At what cost? The question stuck in his mind. Going up against Joseph and Madeline wasn’t a big deal. They could be dealt with—easily at that. What Cade didn’t want was an all-out battle between the two packs. Jonas wasn’t the type of wolf to let something like this go, and neither would Elias. But the thought of losing Ivy. He couldn’t—wouldn’t allow that to happen.

  “Yes. We will.” Cade would do whatever it took to get his mate back. When it came down to it, he would fight to save his mate. It didn’t matter how many wolves he had to kill to do it.

  “We need to find a witch who can break the cloaking spell before Jonas gets his hands on Ivy,” Ezra said, climbing into Cade’s truck.

  “Not just any witch. We need to talk to Felicity.” Cade jumped in his truck and slammed the door.

  “Felicity Fowler? She’s a witch? I always thought she was just another crazy-ass hippie.”

  Cade glanced away from the road and over to Ezra. “Are you for real, man? She is the leader or high priestess or some shit for the Dark Moon Coven.”

  “How did I not know this?”

  “I have no idea, but if anyone can tell us anything about that damn spell, it’s her.”

  13

  With one hand still on the steering wheel, Cade reached into his pocket and pulled out a baggie filled with purple powder.

  “We didn’t get a chance to use this on Ivy’s roommates.” He handed it to Ezra.

  “I’m not sure if this is a good or bad thing. My parents were adamant that it be used, but you know how I feel about it.”

  Turning on the dome light in the cab of the truck, he held up the baggie and glared at it. “This shit right here is the reason I have never gotten close to another human. I don’t ever want to see another human stripped of their memories.”

  Cade knew firsthand just how painful of a process it was. He’d witnessed the destructive powder in use more than once.

  “I wonder if the witch who made this powder is the same one who created the cloaking spell my parents are using on Ivy?”

  “I’m hoping Felicity can help us with just that. If we know who your parents are working with, maybe we can find out how the spell works and what we can do to break it.”

  “Good. She’s already here,” Cade said as he pulled to a stop in front of his house.

  “That’s her car?” Ezra asked.

  “Well, I’m ass
uming she didn’t fly here on a broom,” Cade said as he hopped out of the truck.

  Felicity leaned against her candy-apple red sportscar, looking just as he’d remembered. Her wavy auburn hair hung down over her shoulders. Every time she glanced at Cade, it felt as if she were looking directly into his soul with her piercing, blue eyes. Face to face meetings with the witch always left him feeling a bit unsettled.

  “Hey, Cade. What’s up? Your text message has me a bit worried.” Her high-pitched voice danced around in the moonlight, reminding him of fairies he’d once met in the forest.

  “Felicity, it’s good to see you. This is Ezra. I don’t know if the two you have ever met or not.”

  Cade’s wolf growled in his mind. He might be friends with the witch, but it was and had always been an uneasy alliance according to the animal. His wolf had a natural distrust for witches. Cade had no idea why. Perhaps in a past life his animal had had a run-in with a witch of the wicked variety.

  “Easy, boy. She’s always been a friend to us, and we need her help.”

  “Fine!” his wolf huffed.

  “Hello, handsome. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “The pleasure’s all mine.”

  Cade rolled his eyes as Ezra turned on the charm and kissed Felicity’s hand.

  “Let’s save the flirting for later. We need to find Ivy.”

  “Who is Ivy?” Felicity asked.

  “She’s my mate and Ezra’s sister. Her parents are holding her against her will, and they have a cloaking spell concealing her from me.”

  “Why would they do such a thing?”

  Ezra sighed. “They made a deal with Jonas Markson. They offered my sister up to him in order to cancel the debt they owe him.”

  “Oh, Goddess. Who does that sort of thing?” Felicity looked just as stunned as Cade felt.

  “My parents, apparently,” Ezra said.

  “I’m not sure how you think I can possibly help in this situation.”

  Ezra handed Felicity the bag of purple powder.

  “We think that whoever my parents hired to make this powder for them is the same witch who created the concealment spell they’re using on Ivy to keep her hidden.”

  “This has got to be Georgia’s work. She hasn’t been spending a lot of time with the coven lately, and when I asked her about it, she said she had a new job—freelancing.” Felicity pulled a pinch of powder from the baggie.

  “You may want to back up. I wouldn’t want you guys losing your memories.”

  Cade and Ezra moved out of the way.

  Felicity tossed the powder into the air and whispered in a strange voice. The particles of the fine powder separated, changing from purple to blue and back again.

  Cade’s wolf growled once again in his mind. Any use of magic had his beast on edge and ready to attack.

  “She’s just trying to find out who placed the spell on our mate,” Cade said, trying to soothe his wolf.

  “This is definitely Georgia’s work. I can’t believe she sold this stuff to your parents. We haven’t used it in years. In this day and age, there’s really no point to it. We don’t have to hide from the humans like we used to.”

  “Agreed. They wanted us to use it on her roommates. I’m glad Cade didn’t go through with it.”

  “Me, too. It would’ve been a whole hell of a lot harder to find the witch your parents have been working with without this.” Felicity jiggled the bag.

  “Can you break the concealment spell that was used on Ivy?” Cade asked.

  “Doubtful. I can try, but each spell that is cast is unique. Two very different witches may cast the exact same spell, yet the two exact spells will be different because of the witch’s signature,” Felicity explained.

  “I never knew that. I thought all spells were the same,” Cade said.

  “Every witch has a different type of magic. We may have similar powers, but never the same. Think of magic as a fingerprint. No two humans will ever have the same fingerprints. It’s the same for magic.”

  “So, we have to find Georgia in order to break the spell?” Ezra asked.

  Cade had a sinking feeling in his gut. He didn’t like being dependent on other people. Especially when it came to saving his mate.

  “It’s either that or we wait for the spell to wear off,” Felicity said.

  “We don’t have that kind of time. The full moon is tomorrow and Jonas plans on forcing the mating ritual on Ivy. Considering she’s already mated to Cade, it will likely kill her. I won’t allow that to happen.”

  “I’ll be damned if I wait for that spell to wear off. There’s no telling what Madeline and Joseph will do to Ivy to keep her there. I’ll storm the place on my own, killing everyone who tries to stop me before I sit back and do nothing.”

  There had to be a way to get to Ivy. Cade wouldn’t accept that they could do nothing but wait it out. What kind of asinine plan was that?

  “I know you’re pissed, and you have every right to be. It’s within your right to kill them for what they’ve done, but they are still my parents. Ivy’s parents. Think about it, Cade. I’m begging you not to do this,” Ezra implored.

  “Hold up. Before you go charging there all homicidal and shit, let me see if I can get a hold of Georgia. Maybe once she knows what her spell is being used for, she’ll break it for us.” Felicity pulled her phone from her pocket and punched in a series of numbers.

  “Straight to voicemail. Awesome. Let me try texting her.”

  Cade clenched his fists, ready to let his wolf take over—damn the consequences, but Ezra and Felicity were right. He couldn’t go in there half-cocked killing anything that moved.

  “It’s time to call Elias and Barnette in on this because I can’t guarantee your parents are going to walk out of there alive,” Cade said as he jumped into his truck and took off.

  14

  Ivy’s head pounded. It felt like someone had hit her with a brick. She tried to sit up, but the room spun. Her tongue felt like sandpaper. What the hell had happened? The last thing she remembered was the fight she’d had with her parents over Cade.

  Oh God! Memories of her parents attacking her rushed back into her mind. The silver chain may have been removed from her neck, but it had been replaced with a padded silver collar. It wouldn’t eat through her skin like the chain had. Thank God for small miracles. The silver collar, padded or not, would keep her in a weakened state and prevent her from shifting into her wolf form.

  “Look who’s finally awake. I was beginning to think your father may have been a bit too rough with you.”

  Ivy finally pulled herself to a sitting position, wincing as the collar tightened around her neck. “Momma, you have got to stop this. It’s insanity. You know that, right?”

  “Even if I wanted to stop it, I couldn’t. It’s out of my hands,” Madeline tried to explain as she paced back and forth in front of Ivy.

  “I don’t understand why you and Daddy are doing this. What did I do to deserve this punishment?” Tears streamed down Ivy’s face. She couldn’t fathom why her parents were treating her like this. Why they were trying to force her to be with someone who wasn’t her mate. It made no sense.

  “It’s not for you to understand, Ivy. Your father made a deal with Jonas and there is no way around it. What’s done is done.”

  “Even though Cade has already marked and claimed me as his mate? You would ship me off to another who would see me dead if he tries to break my bond with Cade?”

  “Stop being so dramatic, dear. Any witch worth her weight can easily break the bond.”

  “Momma! I love Cade. I always have. You know that.”

  “Stop with your silly and unrealistic belief in fated mates. You’ll come to love Jonas as your husband. It just takes time. How do you think your father and I met? It certainly wasn’t fate.”

  The more her mother talked, the more agitated her mom became. There was more to the story, but Ivy had no interest in trying to figure it out.

  “It’
s no use,” her wolf said in her mind. The animal’s strength was in a rapid decline. For the first time in her existence, she’d given up any hope of escaping on her own.

  Ivy could feel the weakness in her bones. Every muscle in her body was tired and sore. Standing on her own two feet would be a challenge. One that she nor her wolf seemed to be up to at the moment. It wasn’t like it mattered anyway. Even if she could stand on her own, she had no way of getting the damn collar off.

  “They’ve lost their fucking minds. We have to get out of here. We can’t give up,” Ivy said, trying to rally her wolf.

  “We have no way to open this collar. Unless you have some magical remedy I don’t know about, we are stuck right where we are until our mate finds us.”

  Ivy had never heard her wolf so depressed—beaten down by anything. It wasn’t like her wolf to just give up. She was a natural fighter. The optimistic one. Even when they had faced the greatest of challenges, it was always the animal inside of her pushing for a solution.

  “Cade. Can you hear me?” she tried calling out to Cade through their mating connection. It was a last-ditch effort, but it had to work. She’d managed to call out to him once before. She could do it again.

  Hopefully.

  “Ivy? Are you okay?”

  “Cade! Oh, thank God. My parents have gone insane. You have to get me out of here.”

  It worked! It actually worked! A smile spread across Ivy’s face. Cade could hear her and hopefully get her the fuck out of the silver collar sooner rather than later.

  “What are you smiling about? Do you find something funny about this situation?” Madeline glanced down at her watch.

  “She doesn’t know about the mating connection?” her wolf said.

  “How could she not?” Ivy had no idea what her wolf was talking about. How could her mom not know about Ivy’s ability to speak to Cade through the mating connection? It didn’t make a bit of sense. Her parents had been married for years. They had to have spoken through it at some point.