Moonlight

Argona sat in the living room on the sofa next to Dallas while crying over what had transpired with Aisling. The wolf lupa listened to the curses and insults as she handed the drakos tissues when she needed them. "So what should I do, Dallas?" Argona asked in between sniffs. "I want to throttle but at the same time I want to make it up to him."

"Well first of all, calling Ais a butt-scratching ball licking howler was a bit extreme," said Dallas, "but then again, I will give ye some license because ye jest discovered that yer mates. But ya do need tae talk it oot with him. I probably would have done the same if I were ya, just would have left oot the ball licking part fer another day, lass."

"He probably hates me!" Argona sobbed again, burying her face in Dallas's lap as her shoulders shook. The redhead patted her friend's back all the while speaking soothingly to her in Gaelic. "Well ye two do fight like, no pun intended, dragons and dogs," answered the wolf lupa who was trying to do her best and not laugh. Never in a million years did she ever think that she would see Argona broken up over Aisling after a one nighter. All she could do was shake her head and bite her lip in utter disbelief. 'Gods help me get through this,' she said silently. 'Help me get through this before I end up with a new wolf stole and a purple luggage set with matching boots.'

"Tell ye what," said Dallas, "didnae ye say that two friends of yer's were coming into town?"

"Umhmm..." the drakos moaned before snorting.

"How about ye give them a call and we go oot for a night on the town. Just forget aboot Aisling fer an evening and let it be jest us girls. What do ya say?"

Argona snapped her head up and looked at her friend for a moment before wiping her eyes then said, "Okay...you have a deal."


~****~


Argona was dressed to impress wearing her hair down, a white pearl choker around her neck, a purple Ella Moss Joni top with her black leather pants and her Michael Kors black ankle boots. She was determind not to think about a certain wolf at all tonight. Glancing over at Dallas who was also dressed to kill in her black leather bustier top with a lace up back and matching pants, toping it off with her red boots. The wolf lupa even tamed her deep crimson curls into a sexy updo with a few ringlets falling around her face.

They were heading for one of the Las Vegas famous hot spots, The Jet Night Club, to meet up with Argona's friends, James 'Hell' and Angel 'Heavenly' Messenger twin brother and sister. They ran a club of their own back in Chicago called Chaos. James often went by the name Hell since he always thought it was fun to be introduced as Hells Messenger as opposed to his sister who was known as Heavenly.

Upon entering the club, Argona scanned the crowd since it was packed. Music was thumping which made her smile and she began to relax for the first time in days. As she pushed her way into the club heading to the back where Hell and Heavenly said they would have a table, Dallas followed closely behind her. The drakos turned around upon hearing her friend growl then snarl at a party-goer who had the misfortune of trying to squeeze Dallas's rear only to nearly have his arm ripped from the socket. The man was on the ground still in a daze by the time the she-wolf stalked off.

"Damn, Dallas," Argona yelled above the music. "And you call me moody."

"He should learn tae keep his hands tae himself," she replied. "The bastard is lucky he still has both arms."

Argona laughed when she looked over her shoulder and saw the man holding his shoulder and looking around for whoever had given him the wringer. She merely shook her head and just moved on with the she-wolf. At least she had back up should anyone try anything with her. Soon she spotted the Messenger twins in a booth in the back of the club, not that they were hard to miss. Both were blessed with beauty so rare that they turned heads wherever they went.

Hell was six-foot-five born with hair just as blond as his sister's but often dyed it black because of the unwanted female attention he often received. The dye job helped some but not much, he still got the phone numbers and come ons anyway. Charming and laid back, sometimes Argona wondered if anything could ever get to him. That question was quickly answered one night at Chaos when a customer crossed the line with Heavenly and she saw just how hot his temper could be when he was pushed. Thankfully, she knew that she he was one person she never wanted to cross.

Then there was dear, sweet Heavenly. At nearly six feet with long blonde hair that reached almost to her ankles, Heavenly loved her hair and hated to cut it. Usually she had to trip over it before she broke down and got a trim. Of course, her eyes were as blue as as her brother's but her personality was on the opposite end of the scale. The cheery bubbly type that can talk your ear off if you didn't distract her often enough, but Argona loved her anyway.

Heavenly was the first to notice Argona and slid out of the booth to go up to her, wrapping her in a tight hug. "ARI! Long time no see! How have you been? How long have you been out here in Vegas? Do you like it out here?" Heavenly soon began with her instant talk-a-holic chatter.

Dallas stood back and did her best to keep a straight face while Argona did her best to cut in here and there in between Heavenly's heavy artillery assault of questions. Finally the blonde haired woman took notice of Dallas and said, "I am so sorry, you must forgive my manners. I'm Angel Marie Messenger but everyone calls me Heavenly."

"Dallas Daniels," said the she-wolf with a smile. "Pleased tae meet ya, lass."

"You have such a cool accent. Where are you from?"

"Scotland."

"Did you hear that, H! She's from Scotland!" Heavenly said to her twin, who had come up to join the women. "We really should go there one day. It would be so much fun."

Pulling Argona close, Dallas whispered into her ear, "Has the lass gotten into the sugar jar or is she always this talkative?"

Argona looked at Dallas and mouthed, "This is her normally. Just do a lot of nodding and you'll do fine."

Dallas mumbled to herself in Gaelic as they went to the booth and one by one slid in and took a seat. However, the she-wolf found herself in the middle wedged between Argona and Heavenly's brother. "Oh and this is my brother James but he prefers to be called Hell," said Heavenly.

"Hello," Dallas said politely as she moved over to give him some room since he was sitting far too closely to her for her comfort.

"Hello," Hell replied with a smile, unable to take his eyes off the gorgeous redhead next to him. If this was the friend Argona had mentioned meeting out in Vegas, then he should have been more direct in asking if she was a stunner.

"HELL, will you please put your eyes back in your head! It's not polite to stare," his sister scolded from across the table.

Argona began to laugh at the look on her friend's face once she realized that he was staring a hole right into Dallas and was being pretty obvious about it. As obvious as a teenage boy reading an issue of Playboy magazine.
Hell grinned at Dallas and even blushed a bit at being so obvious. "Sorry, it's just Ari never said what a drop dead gorgeous woman you were, Dallas," he said in an effort as he tried to recover.

Dallas simply frowned at him. Just what exactly this character was up to, she didn't care to find out nor want to find out either.

"You never asked, H," replied Argona between trying to answer Heavenly's rapid fire questions.

Turning back to the other Messenger twin, Ari asked, "Heavenly let's go pole dance for awhile so the two lovebirds can get to know each other." The other woman's incessant prattling was giving the drakos a headache and figured a good round of pole dancing should distract her long enough. However, just the mention of 'lovebirds' was enough to earn Argona a slap upside the head from the she-wolf when neither of the twins were looking.

Heavenly squealed. "Yes, let's go! That's going to be fun!" Jumping out of the booth Heavenly charged for one of the many poles and Argona slid out behind her, rubbing the back of her head as she looked at Dallas. Unable to resist taking one more crack at her friend, she then said, "I'm sure you two can find something to do to keep yourselves occupied."

Dallas gave her a nasty look that could have killed a mortal on sight had it been a weapon, or more like slayed a dragon. Snickering, Argona left to go join Heavenly out on the dance floor while leaving the wolf to fume in silence. Brushing a stray lock of her red curls from her face, Dallas excused herself before sliding out from the booth and made her way over to the bar and away from Hell Messenger. The man was intense and staring a hole into her, which not only peeved the hell out of her but also unnerved her.

Taking a seat at the bar, she ordered a vodka martini and tried to compose herself. Dallas always prided herself on being able to resist any man that tried to put the moves on her but there was something different about Hell that she couldn't quite put her finger on. After getting her drink, she took a long sip before turning to look out on the dance floor and the bodies moving to the rhythm of the music. 'Ari ken find her own way back home,' she thought as she finished her drink. 'I'm going fer a walk.'

Dallas paid the bartender before getting up and heading for the club's exit, not realizing that she was being followed until she was half way down the block. Just as she was about to enter yet another club, she felt a warm hand on her back and quickly turn only to come face to face with him once again. "Stalking me now?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Hell Messenger.

"I saw you leave and wondered if I had offended you in some way. If I have then please accept my apology, Dallas," he quickly said to her. "But if me finding you to be a very beautiful woman is a offensive, then I'm guilty. I just can't help being attracted to you."

"Do ye say this tae all the young women, H?" she asked him.

"I tend to steer clear of the young women," he replied with a sigh. "No, I'm not gay. It's just..." He sighed again and shoved a hand through his thick, long black hair. "Listen, if you let me buy you a drink, I'll explain everything to you."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Verra well then," she said with a nod as they entered the bar. "Irish ale light on the foam, lad."


~****~

When Roxane awoke a couple of hours later, she was still in Max's apartment and in his bed. She soon realized that the chains that had bound her wrists were gone and that the lion was fast asleep beside her with his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. His hot breath blew gently against the back of her neck, tickling the smalls hairs there as well as some of the hairs of her head. Gazing down, she saw his large hands, which were impressive in their size alone.

Roxane knew that they had once been used to kill but yet they were gentle even though they were rough with callouses from years of sword usage. But so far, Max had not laid one hand of ill will on her. All he wanted was to hold her, protect her...love her?

Max moaned in his sleep as another nightmare began to take him over. He could feel the chains around his wrists and neck. The screams, the pain, the humiliation. He was back in Rome, back in the Arena where he was forced to fight for his life by day and warm the beds of matrons by night. Mumbling softly in Greek as he tossed and turned, Max was trying to get away from his tormentors.

Upon seeing this, the pantheress cautiously reached out and touched his shoulder and whispered, "Max, Max, wake up. You're having a nightmare."

For a moment, he stopped moving and only whimpered as though someone has struck him with something. Bracing herself up on her knees, Roxane leaned over him and brushed the tousled golden locks back from his face. He was gorgeous indeed! "I'm here," she whispered softly to him as she settled down against him. "No one is hurting you, it was only a dream."

As her hand trailed down his chiseled chest, her fingers stopped when she felt a scar that ran at least two inches down left side of his rib cage. Her eyes briefly flashed with a dangerous light when she saw that it must have come from a brutal weapon of some sort. 'What happened to you, lion?' she asked silently.'


~****~


Arriving home, Argona walked through the quiet house. She could sense that her friend Dallas was not home yet. Smiling as she remember when she and the chatterbox had returned to the table and both Dal and H were gone. "Guess they did find something to keep themselves busy," mumbled to herself.

Stopping outside Aisling's room, she knew he wasn't there either. She sighed sadly, but had to admit she missed the wolf. Walking down farther she passed his twin's room then stopped. Perhaps if anyone would know where he was it would be his brother, Tiernan. Turning around she approached the door and listened for a moment, not wanting to interrupt anything. Not hearing anything but hating to ask, Argona didn't really know Tiernan that well since she'd only seen him a few times in passing. But he was her last shot at finding out where Aisling had gone.

Taking a deep breath, the drakos knocked on the door and waited. She heard some signs of life from inside the room and a few seconds the later the door opened. Tiernan was an exact copy of his twin right down to the shimmering emerald green eyes. The only difference was that he was shy while Aisling was cranky and ornery. "Can I help ye?" he asked, his voice was lower than that of his twin's, which rumbled more like thunder. Tiernan's voice was deep but smoother.

"Hey, um, can I talk to you a moment," Argona asked Tiernan, who was still holding the door open just enough to let her know he was alone in the room.

"What aboot?" he asked, raising a brow.

"Aisling."

Tiernan's eyes flickered for a moment and he was about to close the door when she reached out and stopped it with her foot. "Please, Tier, it's important," she pleaded. "I need to find him."

"I cannae help ya, lass," he replied softly. "Now go, please."

"Tiernan! Please! I...I need to apologize to him and there's so much I need to find out about him. Please, Tier, help me?"

Resting his forehead against the door, the wolf was unable to resist listening to the drakos' pleas for much longer. He opened the door and let her into the room. "Just better hope he doesnae kill me fer telling ye this aboot him," said Tiernan.

Argona stepped into the room and was surprised to find that it was more like a sitting area than a bedroom. The sitting part had a black entertainment center against the wall, black plush velvet sofa, loveseat and chair as well as a coffee table. Through a doorway, she was able to see the bedroom, which had a crimson comforter on it from what she could see. He basically had his own mini-apartment, which explained why no one ever saw much of him.

"Have a seat," he said as he motioned to the loveseat as he sat down on the sofa. Tiernan was dressed differently than his twin as well. While Aisling favored vintage rock tees and faded jeans, Tiernan wore a plain dark green t-shirt that made his eyes appear more vivid and black cargo pants. His long black hair was pulled back into a loose braid that ended half way down his back. Argona had to admit that the sexy genes ran strong in the Lachlan family. She remembered Dallas telling her that Aisling and Tiernan had two other brothers and a sister. 'If these two are this hot, heaven help us all should the others show up,' she thought to herself.

"So, what do ye want tae know aboot Aisling?" he asked her.

"Do you know where he is?" she asked him.

"Maybe, but why should I tell ye after the insults ye leveled at him, lass? Being called a butt scratching ball licker is verra insulting tae our kind."

"You all that that personally, don't you?"

"How would ye feel if I called ye 'sulfur and brimstone breath' with the temperament of a bear caught in a trap?" he asked her.

"Um, well, that is pretty much me but I wouldn't like it," she admitted.

"How do ye think he feels?"

"Okay, okay I get your point. Now tell me where he is!"

"Can't, lass. Been sworn tae silence," replied Tiernan. "He will be back soon enough."

"How soon?" she asked.

"When the mark on yer palms disappears."