Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Damn it, he’d hoped to keep all this away from her, at least for a little while longer. The mob at the front door was inevitably going to reveal his darkest secret and the last thing he wanted was for Luna to have anything to hold over his head. He still needed her to be here to convince his aunt that he wasn’t a failure.

But of course, life rarely worked in the way he wanted it to. Luther knew the muffled shouts from the other side of the door would be impossible for her to hear. But he could hear their chants just fine.

“Send out the beast!”

Obviously, his wolf had done something horrible while it roamed the woods. And the damned creature wouldn’t tell him what it was. He’d stood in front of the door arguing with its reflection in the doorknob for ten minutes before she wandered over and caught his muttering. The creature didn’t want to let him know what had happened. Instead, it wanted him to open the door and get into a fistfight.

More blood. That was always the wolf’s answer to every problem.

The last thing he needed was to get into a fight with Luna standing beside him. What if she got hurt? Sure, she looked like she could handle herself, but an entire mob at the front of his door? The men there might want retribution and he’d never forgive himself if she was injured because of his folly.

He didn’t have much of an option though, now did he? She was staring at him. They were screaming for him to come out.

What would his father do?

The beast inside him grunted, and thoughts mingled with his own. They both knew that his father would have walked out into the crowd with his head held high. But he also never would have been in this situation. He’d always known how to control the wolf.

Luther, however, was a failure in that regard. He’d kept the town going even better than his father, but their price for wealth was that a werewolf ran through their streets at night, looking for its next victim.

He didn’t know if that was a trade they were willing to make. The loss of loved ones wasn’t worth a single penny that he gave them.

“All right,” he muttered, staring at the door as though it were going to bite. “I can do this.”

But he couldn’t. Not really. He would freeze the moment he saw them and their anger. Their disappointment. Just like his father had always looked when he did something out of the ordinary. It was the reminder that he was a failure, and no matter what he did...

A hand came down on his shoulder, squeezing tightly, though still comforting in its warmth. “Open the door, Luther. I’ll be right beside you the whole time.”

Why was she being so nice to him all of a sudden? He wasn’t asking for pity. He knew how to be a good earl, and the fact that she had to tell him what to do already stung his pride. But damn it, he was so afraid he’d open that door and something horrible would be revealed. That he really was the monster, and that by not controlling his beast, he’d caused more harm than good.

Luther wrapped his hand around the doorknob and pushed the front door open.

The mob beyond held at least twenty-five men. They all had varying degrees of anger in their expression, although a few of them surprised him with fear. He didn’t want them to fear him, and it also didn’t bode well for what was about to come.

Channel your father, he told himself. He stepped out of his manor and into the crowd as though he didn’t have a care in the world. He strode through the men until he stood in the very heart of their gathering. Luther kept his hands raised above his head, so they knew he wasn’t reaching for a weapon. Or worse, changing into the monster they feared him to be.

“You came a long way,” he said, though his voice carried over their mutterings. “You can air your grievances, but I won’t allow you to accost my family or the people who work here. Speak your peace.”

“Our peace?” One man lunged forward out of the crowd. He held a pitchfork in his hand, the very first thing that made Luther uncomfortable.

But then the details of the man made Luther worry. His eyes were hollow and sunken into his head, dark circles ringing them like kohl. His clothes hung off his frame, and that didn’t seem right. He’d never seen a man like that in Dead Man’s Crossing. Wild hair covered his head, the curls creating a halo of darkness around him. His beard was unkempt, and Luther swore there were bits of food still clinging to his lips.

“Yes,” Luther replied, edging backward slightly. “Your peace. Why else would you come to my home if there wasn’t something you wished to tell me? You know this is the first place to come when there is trouble.”

“You speak of trouble as though you already know what happened.” The man lifted the pitchfork and lowered the tines until they faced Luther. “Why do I feel like you do know why we’re here, Earl of Dead Man’s Crossing?”

Well, he didn’t have a response for that. He had a sneaking suspicion why they were here, and it made his entire body ache with the thought of it. He feared they were here because of something the wolf had done. Cattle lost and killed with claws and teeth.

Although... he’d always thought the villagers would assume there was a pack of wolves that moved into the region rather than jumping to a werewolf. They knew the legends, of course. They marked their doors with blood every full moon, just in case. But they hadn’t seen a werewolf in this region for almost two generations. Since Luther’s grandfather.

“I don’t know why you’re here.” Luther carefully selected his words, so he didn’t fan the flames of anger even hotter. “I ask for your patience as we work together to understand each other. You did nearly break my door down trying to get my attention.”

Another man stepped forward, and this one Luther recognized. He was the son of the butcher, a rather handsome young chap with clothing that was a little too snug. Perhaps that’s why all the girls fawned over him. Or perhaps it was the shocking mop of blonde curls atop his head.

Either way, those blue eyes caught upon him and Luther couldn’t look away. “You said we were safe,” the young man snarled. “You said you would keep us safe from all the things that used to plague Dead Man’s Crossing. And you failed.”

Stunned silence rang after those words. The mob of people watched him to see what he would say or do. And Luther was completely and utterly dumbfounded.

Safe? Of course, he was supposed to keep them safe. That’s why he always reminded everyone to keep with the old ways, but no one wanted to listen to him anymore. He’d done his part. He went and labored in the fields with them when he could. That was his job.

And as Luna had reminded him, Luther was the sole reason their entire region prospered. He made the right deals so that all the wheat and produce they harvested went to the best tables. He didn’t keep any of the wealth so that they could have more in their pockets. What more did they want from him?

He straightened his shoulders and, for a moment, it felt as though his father’s soul took hold of him. These people had to recognize that the Earl did more for them than sit in his office signing paperwork.

He looked the young man in the eyes and didn’t hesitate when he replied. “I do keep you safe. That’s my sole purpose as your earl, and I have never failed you.”

“Does this look like safe to you?” The disembodied voice came from somewhere deeper in the crowd.

Movement rocked through the swells of people and suddenly, a body fell through them. The young man had once been a farmer. He could see that in the musculature of his body. But that was the only thing that was easy to tell. The rest of the young man had been eviscerated with claws and teeth. His hollow stomach lacked any entrails or organs, and his face had been shredded beyond recognition.

This was not the work of a wolf pack. They devoured men if they could catch them, absolutely, but they never did this.

The thin gasp that came from behind him reminded Luther that he wasn’t alone in this. The villagers surrounding him had already seen this body, but Luna? She shouldn’t have to look at the remains of a farmer like this. The grisly sight would haunt her for the rest of her days.

“Go inside,” he snarled, turning back to her only for the briefest of moments. “This is work for men.”

She squared her shoulders even though her pale face had turned slightly green. “The work of men is no secret to me, Earl of Dead Man’s Crossing. I’ll do no such thing.”

“You shouldn’t see this.” He tried his best to convince her with his words, but... how was he supposed to do that? She’d already seen it.

“Just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I’m not capable of seeing a dead body.” She pushed through the crowd to his side and he swore it sounded like she added, “It wouldn’t be the first time, anyway.”

To his complete and utter shock, she stood right next to him with her hands on her hips, stared down at the man at their feet, and tilted her head to the side. She didn’t just suffer through having a dead body close to her. She actually looked at it. Contemplating all the details of the horrible thing that had happened to this very poor and very unfortunate man.

Who was this woman?

The man who had thrown the body shuffled forward. Luther didn’t recognize him either, but he doubted he’d see any of the villagers who knew him well. They wouldn’t dare accuse him of anything unsavory. They already knew him well, and Luther wasn’t a killer. His wolf, on the other hand... Well, he couldn’t speak for that one.

This man was better groomed than the others. His long, dark hair was tied at the base of his neck and his dark eyes saw right through Luther’s very soul.

With a knowing grunt, the newcomer nodded to the body. “This happened a few nights ago. Poor boy was brought in from the fields by his family, but they swore they heard him yelling ‘wolf’ as he died. I’ve seen a lot of pack attacks back in my homeland. I’ve seen men killed by ten wolves. None of them look like this. Care to explain?”

Luther started to sweat. His underarms felt too sticky, and a droplet of dew already beaded on his temple. “Why would you think I know anything about this?”

“Cause you’re the Earl of these lands. Aren’t you supposed to fix situations like this? Cause, again, it doesn’t look like a wolf to me.” The man’s eyes narrowed, and it felt as though Luther were being accused of something terrible. Of murder.

Damn it, how did this man know? How had he seen right through Luther’s carefully laid defenses?

Before he could think of any response, however, Luna stepped between the two of them. “I’ve seen wounds like this before. Looks like you have a werewolf problem.”

And just like that, his stomach dropped out of his body. His entire face paled and his equilibrium tilted to the left. Everything he’d eaten that day pressed against the back of his throat, and he worried that he would throw up all over Luna’s back.

Why would she say that? Why would she even know what a werewolf kill looked like?

The man who’d just spoken stared at him, watching every single reaction as though he were giving everything away. But he wasn’t. Was he?

“Hm,” the dark haired man said. “Strange you’d say that. Dead Man’s Crossing used to have a real problem with the werewolves in this area. We haven’t seen one in a long time, and I’m curious how this happened.”

Luna shrugged. “It’s an awful thing to deal with, that’s for sure. But I don’t think you can pin a werewolf attack on anyone unless you saw them change. They’re almost impossible to tell when they’re in their mortal form.”

“And why do you know all this?”

Perhaps she realized that she was becoming a suspect. Luna made an unimpressed face and rolled her eyes. “I had an unusual upbringing. You could say that I was taught all this, but I learned it from the nuns. My sister is one of the official vampire hunters of the Church, and I’m sure you know that if I were a werewolf, she’d have killed me a long time ago.”

That seemed to satisfy the man, although it didn’t satisfy Luther’s curiosity at all. She’d grown up in the convent? Where did she learn about creatures like him?

But then, of course, the man’s attention returned to their original suspect. Luther.

“My lord, I think you know we all want answers for this horrible tragedy.” The dark haired man took an ominous step forward, followed by the man who held the pitchfork.

“I understand that. I also want answers. That man was under my care, and I promise you, I will find the man responsible for this.” He cleared his throat. “Or beast.”

“And I think you’ll also understand that we need to make sure you haven’t followed in your family’s footsteps. We all know the legends about your house.”

Shit. People still remembered that?

Luna dodged in front of them yet again. “Luther has been with me all the nights of the full moon. I can attest, he hasn’t been out roaming the fields if that’s what you’re accusing him of.”

All the men in the crowd hesitated before someone asked quietly, “And just who are you, ma’am? We ain’t never seen you around these parts before.”

Luther should let her answer. She had control of the situation far better than he did. Yet, somehow, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

With a horrible cough, he nearly shouted in response, “She’s my wife.”