Moon Glamour Aimee Easterling (reading women TXT) 📖

a Sleeper. And my gut suggested human allies of fae wouldn’t have quite so many skills.

I expected denial. After all, Tank was a pack wolf and Lupe had said there were no fae present before Samhain.

Instead, Tank nodded. “You were there. I trust your judgment.”

My throat tightened, not with disappointment but with something sweeter and fiercer. “She’s Harper’s history teacher. I’m worried...”

“That she’ll do something to your sister.” Tank finished my sentence, making the leap that had been obvious to me.

I nodded. “Harper needs to be somewhere safe. Somewhere Marina won’t look for her. I was going to suggest your pack, but now that you’ve told me about your alpha....”

“The former alpha.” Tank’s body language radiated purpose. “I knew he wouldn’t last, and he didn’t. The new alpha is Kira’s brother-in-law. A good wolf. Honorable. Our pack is thriving.”

I could see the others waiting for us through the trees now. I needed to stick to the point. Still, my hand rose to feather across Tank’s face a second time. “Was it worth it?”

His answer was immediate. “One hundred percent.”

Then, before I could ask, he offered. “My pack will be glad to keep an eye on Harper and Clara for the rest of their vacation. Kira’s brought humans home before. It won’t be a problem hiding lupine natures.” His voice dropped to a growl. “No one would dare invade our land.”

I swallowed down fear of pack and accepted that this was the exact solution I’d hoped for. “Thank you. I owe you.”

He shook his head, curt and adamant. “You owe me nothing. We’ll talk to Lupe, explain the situation, then the two of us will....”

Now I was the one shaking my head so hard that Tank fell silent. The heat of Lupe’s gaze bored into us. We weren’t just late, we were dawdling within plain sight.

Still, Tank focused on me alone. “Problem?”

Memories of Lupe’s gun made me wince away from Tank’s game plan. I barely knew the woman. Tank was the only one I trusted. “I’m not ready to share this with anyone other than you.”

Tank’s cheek twitched as if he disagreed with me. But he didn’t argue. “Okay. Then we’ll make an excuse for the two of us to be gone....”

“No.” I shut him down again, knowing I was driving a wedge into this utterly sweet but oh-so-fragile thing germinating between us. “Marina might be spooked if you come with me. This is something I need to do alone.”

I held my breath, expecting an explosion. Men, especially werewolf men, didn’t deal well with disagreement. They hated being told that a mere woman was going to solve a problem on her lonesome.

But Tank only closed his eyes for one split second, exhaling slowly. And when he met my gaze again he nodded. “If that’s what you need, I’ll help make it happen. But call me. Please. If you need any help.”

Chapter 24

“Have you decided to join us?” Lupe didn’t give me and Tank time to answer before continuing with the spiel we’d so obviously delayed. “Then we can finally begin our lesson in swordcraft. I’ll let Butch explain.”

And he did. In excruciating detail while I struggled to focus on something other than Marina and Harper and Rowan.

It was useful information, actually, if Butch could have summed it up a bit more succinctly. Fae, he explained, were allergic to all metals other than copper. Which meant a steel sword thrust through their torsos was the most effective way of expelling them back to the Otherworld.

“Doesn’t kill them?” Tank asked, jabbing the ground with one of the weapons that had been handed out to us. Someone had attached heavy weights to broom handles then wrapped padding around them, producing a so-called sword that wrenched my arm muscles whenever I tried to lift it but made Ryder laugh when he smacked himself in the face.

Lupe shook her head. “No. The fae aren’t entirely of this world, so nothing you do here will kill them. They can, however, kill you. And while they can’t handle steel the way we can, their copper swords are sharp enough to do the trick.”

Ryder’s nostrils flared. “All it takes to expel them is metal? So why don’t we shoot their asses?”

I winced. Not at the language, but at the bloodthirstiness.

Unlike me, Lupe was unfazed by Ryder’s tone. “Guns have a tendency to backfire around the fae, making them worse than useless. Something about the ability to twist air and fire to their will. Whatever the reason, blades are our safest choice.”

I attempted to follow along as Lupe showed us a few basic maneuvers. It soon became apparent that there was no way any of us, except Lupe and Butch, were going to be up to speed by Samhain.

Kira, in contrast, turned out to be quite the swordswoman, as I learned when the girls descended upon us in a mass of giggles and chatter. “Ooh! I want to play!” the older girl said, pouncing upon the pile of spare weapons. She hefted three of them before choosing her favorite, then used the practice weapon to batter Butch to a standstill. “My sister taught me,” she explained through a smile so wide it must have made her cheeks hurt.

And, to my surprise, Harper seemed to have a knack for swords also. She showed none of the tentativeness I’d grown accustomed to from her, snatching up a weapon without asking for permission. Then she managed to knock my practice sword out of my hand when the two of us squared off.

“Nice work,” I praised her.

“Kira said if I want something, I have to take it,” Harper answered, brushing a strand of sweaty hair off her forehead.

My heart warmed. This was the right move. Werewolves and fae aside, the environment was good for my sister. She was growing right in front of my eyes....

But Lupe’s voice rose above the clatter of practice weapons, preventing me from praising Harper further. “Now you’ll learn what battle feels like. Let’s split into