“It’s nothing. I’ll take it back.”
Taran frowned and strutted to his side. “Let me see it.”
Gemini reluctantly gave the little red box to her and we watched as she opened it. Taran pulled out a beautiful silver cross with a single diamond set in the center. Emme and Shayna stepped closer, smiling. The silver necklace sparkled despite the dim lighting in our family room.
“It’s so pretty,” Emme said quietly.
I leaned forward to get a better look. “It’s engraved.” I grinned when I saw the lettering. “Taran, read what it says.”
Taran’s eyes brimmed with tears. “It says . . . ‘Mi Bella Taran,’” she whispered softly.
Gemini had engraved it in Spanish, a tribute to our mother’s Latin heritage.
“What does that mean?” Koda asked.
Gemini’s face mimicked the color of his burgundy sweater. “My beautiful Taran.” His gaze swept to her. “I wanted to get you a ring . . . but I know you’re not ready for that.”
Taran’s actions spoke louder than any words she could have uttered. She removed Misha’s necklace and tossed it to Shayna. Tears streamed down her face as she placed the cross around her neck and threw her arms around Gemini. “It’s the most beautiful gift anyone has ever given me,” she whispered. Taran had dated many men. But she had never found true kindness or love until she met Tomo “Gemini” Hamamatsu.
Gem murmured in her ear, “Happy birthday.”
The rest of us returned to our seats in an effort to ignore the heat from Taran’s thank-you.
“Do you mind if I try on your other necklace?” Shayna asked.
Taran snuggled against Gemini. “I don’t care—”
She jerked away from Gemini, stumbling back against the wall. Gem grabbed her to keep from falling as her irises bleached to white. Everyone tensed. The wolves and I jumped to our feet, straining to detect something with our preternatural senses. Nothing registered except the frantic efforts of my tigress, struggling to free herself from within.
Emme clutched Liam’s arm. “What is it, Taran? What’s here?”
Taran’s voice lowered to a deep, unrecognizable rasp. “Tribemaster.”
CHAPTER 5
If Webster’s published a supernatural equivalent of a dictionary it would define Tribemasters as “the deadly and highly intelligent offspring of a demon father and a powerful witch mother, capable of producing spawn with predatory instincts who feed on human flesh” or “supernatural evildoers in charge of a large group of Tribesmen.” They might even include an illustration of Noah Webster himself screaming and sprinting away from said evildoer.
I had the nightmarish displeasure of meeting a Tribemaster when the Tribe emerged several months back. He thought my sisters and I had the perfect wombs to bear his children. He also pummeled three pack Elders and Misha’s maker, Uri, and he beat the unholy snot out of me and tore off Misha’s arms. I managed to punch a hole in his head and rip out his brain, only because his claws were busy skewering Aric.
We didn’t sense anything at first, until the ground began to tremble. There was a loud squishing sound, similar to someone pulling his or her galoshes out of the mud.
“Oh, shit. That can’t be good,” Bren said.
“Celia, get your sisters and— Where the hell is Shayna?” Koda’s head whipped around, searching for his mate.
Shayna barreled down the stairs, holding the sapphire- encrusted daggers Misha had once gifted her and Taran’s necklace fastened around her neck. Silver light streaked from platinum facets and into her arms. The diamonds glimmered in a burst of light as Shayna’s power transformed the daggers into long and deadly swords.
Squish, squash, squish.