Chapter Text
CHAPTER 12
Moonrise
When they were at the top of the rise it looked as though the desert plain stretched out flat and open almost as far as the eye could see. This landscape was deceptive though and Quinn knew it could hide entire villages without giving so much as a hint of anything other than broad flat plain. Eliot tapped his brakes a couple of times before continuing on and Quinn dutifully followed after.
They wound around a few more low hills and had just passed a large red rock outcropping when the landscape suddenly opened out again into a beautiful vista. The sun was setting, but was still visible on the edge of the horizon as a blazing white orb. The sky was still as blue as midday overhead but faded into greens and yellows the closer it got to the horizon. The clouds in the distance where tinted a nearly magenta shade of lilac on the bottoms and a dark heavy looking purple on top. Quinn slowed as he took in the view but still nearly ran into Eliot’s jeep that had stopped ahead of him. Managing to stop inches from the other jeep Quinn put it in park and got out.
Fifty feet to the north was a large tent. Despite the low light trying to blend the colors together, Quinn was able to make out the deep red and brown stripes of the canopy and sides. The edge of the canopy was trimmed with giant camel hair tassels of several colors. A warm glow was coming from inside the tent and two pierced tin oil lanterns were hanging from poles on either side of the entrance.
“Oh my!” Sophie put a hand to her chest as she took in the scene. It looked to her as if the tent and the landscape itself had come directly from one of Shahrazad’s tales.
“Where’d all this come from?” Nate looked to Eliot.
“Someone owed me a favor.” Eliot looked smug. He slung his bag over his shoulder and headed for the tent.
Quinn picked up his bag and followed after. Parker and Hardison grabbed their own bags and Hardison stopped by the second jeep to grab a couple of Sophie’s bags as well. It didn’t take long to get everyone moved into the tent.
Eliot checked his watch. “Twenty minutes until moon rise.” He dropped his bag in a corner and turned to face his pack. “This place is ours until noon tomorrow. There’s food and water in the baskets. Hardison, Quinn, you guys can’t wander without me. In fact, none of us will be going too far tonight. I’ve been promised that we’ll have privacy, but we don’t want to wander into someone else’s territory.”
Parker bounced on the end of a bed and admired the little clusters of lanterns that had been hung around the inside of the tent. “It must have been some favor.” She admired the way the light twinkled like gold coins in the sun.
Eliot sat next to her. “Retrieved a prized camel for a Bedouin tribe. I knew they traveled this direction every summer.” He admired the welcoming scene for a moment. Without shifting position, he admired Parker for a moment too. Her pale hair and porcelain skin always made her appear angelic and the soft glow of the lanterns seemed to enhance that effect. He could feel the moon’s call and the restlessness coming from the boys as they felt it too. He also felt a yearning coming from her. He knew that sooner or later he’d have to quit being a coward and offer to change her. It was something they all wanted for her but… At least for tonight though they’d just have to enjoy what things were in the moment. He wrapped and arm around her shoulders. “Same as always.”
Parker smiled and rested her head on his shoulder for a moment. “Same as always.”
After a moment Eliot got up and headed for his bag.
Quinn hadn’t stripped off yet, but his shirt was open, and his feet were bare. “What’s the ‘same as always’?”
“Parker is my second and a valued part of the pack no matter what shape we’re all in.” Eliot looked fondly at Parker. He could feel a buzz of amusement coming from Quinn. “What?”
Quinn gestured around the tent. “I was right.”
“About?”
“I said that if things were left to you, we’d be in a tent with no air conditioning.”
Eliot rolled his eyes but smiled. “Shut up.” He pulled his shirt off and toed off his boots. “What do you care if we’re in a tent when it’s a full moon tonight.” Eliot gave Quinn a playful shove. “Come on. Let’s shift so we can all run before it’s too dark.” He hurried out of the tent and headed back to the jeeps.
Quinn caught up with him. “What do you mean too dark?” With his werewolf vision he’d never had any trouble seeing at night.
“Parker usually runs with us for a bit.” Eliot took a deep breath enjoying the feel of the warm desert wind on his skin for a moment before he slid into his wolf shape.
As the feel of his Alpha shifting hit the bonds Quinn tilted his head to expose his neck. His eyes went blue and then the rest of him started to melt into his wolf form. He couldn’t help the groan of pain, but he tried to keep quiet as the shift twisted him from one form to another.
~~o0o~~
Parker found Hardison standing outside near the side of the tent where he could watch the last of the sunset. She slipped under his arm, and he kissed the top of her head.
“Everything okay?” She looked up at him.
He gave her a half smile. “Yah things are fine.”
“You feel a little bit sad.” She set her hand over his heart.
“I just thought that when there were finally three wolves in this pack for a full moon night that the third wolf would be you.” He squeezed her shoulders in a sideways hug. “I know that Eliot is waiting. I don’t really understand that, but I get it kinda, he’s waiting. But my wolf just wants you. We, I, want to run with you when we’re both wolves.” He sighed. “I don’t feel like I’m explaining this right.”
“It’s okay.” She pushed up on her toes to kiss him. She slid her hands up his sides, hooking his shirt with her thumbs and sliding it up.
He smiled and broke the kiss, pulling the shirt the rest of the way off. He reveled in the feel of her bare arms wrapped around him and her soft warm body pressed against his. “Wish we had more time like this, but the moon is calling.”
She nodded and stepped back.
When Hardison finished his shift Parker collected his clothes and shook them out before taking them into the tent. She could feel the moon’s call humming in the bonds, and it made her smile.
“I’ll be back later.” Parker called as she left the tent. She followed the sense in the bonds that told her where the boys were and found them all near the jeeps.
All three wolves milled around her, and she let her fingers skim through fur and over ears and tails. She bent a little to wrap her arms around Hardison’s neck and kiss between his ears. “Ready when you are Sparky.” Parker smiled at Eliot as she let go of Hardison.
Eliot set out at a speed he knew Parker could maintain for a while. They traveled to the top of a rise a little less than a mile from the tent. The sound of baked earth crunching under Parker’s shoes was the loudest sound for miles. The moon hung full, and heavy looking, above the horizon and Parker could feel the urge in the bonds to howl at it, but she knew that Eliot was keeping them from making noise and attracting attention.
When she could feel that the boys were all focused on other things she leapt at Eliot with a growl.
~~o0o~~
Quinn still hated the shift itself. It always hurt, no matter what. But his Alpha shifting this close to him on a moon night started his change whether he was ready or not.
Hardison came in his great grey and black wolf and a moment later Parker was there. Quinn enjoyed the warm excited feeling that seemed to ricochet through the pack. He watched as Parker hugged Hardison and he couldn’t help moving a little closer. She didn’t hesitate to run her fingers through his fur or rub his ears and while he thoroughly enjoyed the touch it surprised him.
In no time they were moving through the arid landscape with the warm air tickling through his fur and the dry crunch of sunbaked clay under his paws. They topped a rise and were captivated by the moon, which was on full display. Quinn couldn’t help himself as he stared with fascination.
Parker’s thin human growl broke the moon’s spell and Quinn looked in time to see Parker tackle Eliot and roll him to his back. The yip from Eliot certainly sounded surprised but Quinn knew that there was no way Parker could have taken him all the way to the ground if he hadn’t allowed it. Quinn stared in slack jawed amazement as Parker proclaimed ‘Gotcha’ while she twisted one of Eliot’s front legs into a joint lock.
Eliot yipped again and Parker let him go but was immediately knocked belly to belly with the tan wolf as Hardison bowled her over from behind. She laughed and thrashed but couldn’t seem to get loose as the two wolves took turns nosing her this way and that.
“Ahh! Help!” Parker laughed and held and arm out. “Quinn, help!”
Quinn hesitated but he could feel nothing in the bonds to be wary of, so he moved closer. Her arm shot out again and she grabbed onto one of his front legs just before she slid off of Eliot’s other side as Hardison leapt over them and body checked Quinn into the middle of the fray. With a yelp he tucked his legs so that he wouldn’t catch Parker with his claws as he rolled.
When he stopped, he was on his back and Parker leapt at him with a cry of her own and went straight for his belly with an aggressive combo of scritches and tickling fingers. Hardison drove her back with several slobbery licks to her cheeks and neck until she collapsed against Eliot’s side in a fit of helpless giggles.
“Alright! I give!” She sighed contentedly. “Wolves win.”
After a moment she got up and dusted her clothes off. Hardison brushed against her side, and she dug her fingers into the scruff of his neck. “It’s almost too dark for me to see. Better take me back.”
Hardison moved forward and Parker kept pace with him but didn’t let go of his ruff. Eliot moved to Parker’s other side and moved close enough that he bumped lightly against her now and again. Quinn followed behind and marveled at his own good fortune.
~~o0o~~
Nate sat back on what was apparently an air mattress as he watched the rest of the pack interacting. Eliot gave Hardison a pat on the back as Hardison set down a couple of Sophie’s bags. Parker bumped her shoulder against Quinn as she wandered past him while assessing the tent. Nate assumed that Parker was judging possible climbing routes and exits. Quinn was keeping an eye on the others although it was obvious that he was mostly focused on Eliot. Nate wondered about that, but he’d never spent much time around other werewolves, excepting Nati’s pack and they seemed to go out of their way to be as low key as possible around him and Sophie.
Sophie wrapped her arms around Nate from behind and rested her chin on his shoulder for a moment before he moved to put an arm around her shoulders and pull her into his side. “So have you forgiven me for bringing you to Morocco?” Sophie turned a little so that she could better see his face.
“Always.” He kissed her forehead. “None of this was your fault.” He chuckled. “Who could have predicted werehyenas?”
They watched as Quinn and Eliot headed for the jeeps to start their shifts. “What do you think of Quinn being part of the pack?”
Nate frowned a little. “It’ll change things.”
“I think he was telling us the truth about not being very high up in his pack until recently. So maybe it won’t throw things off too badly.”
“You’re right. It would be a problem if he was trying to call the shots but so far…” Nate leaned his head to the side to rest against hers.
“Have you seen the way they all interact though? Quinn seems to defer to the others. Maybe he hasn’t settled in yet, but I think even when he does it won’t be a problem.”
They changed into pajamas and climbed into bed. Nate took a moment to arrange the mosquito netting around their bed before he settled on top of the blankets. Sophie laced her fingers through his and they lay quietly for a little while.
“It’s been awfully quiet.” Sophie whispered.
“I’m sure they’re just being cautious.” Nate gave her hand a squeeze. “Have you ever known Eliot to be anything but cautious when it came to the safety of Hardison and Parker?”
Sophie snorted. There wasn’t any aspect to their jobs that Sophie would consider as being cautious. But she took Nate’s point, Eliot never took unnecessary risks when it came to everyone else.
Nate had left the two lamps outside the tent lit but had put the rest out before they’d turned in. So, when Parker skipped through the tent’s entrance, she was little more than a silhouette against the night sky.
“Goodnight.” Parker breathed the words on a sigh as she settled onto one of the beds.
Nate didn’t know if that was meant for them or the wolves, but he didn’t manage a response before sleep pulled him under.
The next morning Nate and Sophie woke to the sight of three enormous wolves still sleeping in a pile near the entrance to the tent. Sophie looked around but didn’t spot Parker. Nate had also noticed the thief’s absence and he looked up to see if she’d found a perch higher up. A very human sounding yawn came from somewhere in the middle of the wolf pile. A pale arm and a slim leg stretched up and out.
“Looks like it was a good night.” Nate commented.
“It’s good to have pack.” Sophie smiled.
~~o0o~~
Hardison, Parker, and Quinn were in the lead jeep as they headed back to Ben Guerir. Parker had taken the back seat but was leaning forward between the front seats. Hardison felt his phone buzz and fished it out of his pocket. He handed it to Parker since he didn’t want to read the text while he was driving across the rough desert terrain.
“The text is from the hyenas.” She read over it. “Apparently Elhadad sent a message to the hotel with his blessing, and he’s moved the money for Koré’s bride price into her account. They just wanted to tell us thanks and let us know that things are getting better.
Quinn moved to tuck his hair behind his ear again before he remembered for the dozenth time that he’d cut his hair short. “It’s nice that things worked out for them but the whole vampire hyena thing still gives me the creeps.”
Hardison shuddered. “I hope we’re done with the vampires.”
“Probably not.” Parker frowned.
Both men looked at her.
“What makes you say that?” Hardison glanced at her again.
“Gemma and Ms. Teo.” She shrugged. “I know Eliot says that things are done between him and Gemma, but I don’t think so. And as long as Ms. Teo is around, she’s probably going to stir trouble with the vampires.”
Quinn smiled at the thought of the old woman and her crossbow.
~~o0o~~
Eliot settled the last bag into the back of the jeep before he climbed behind the steering wheel. He smiled with his last look at the tent as they drove away.
“Last night was Quinn’s first full moon with the pack?”
Eliot glanced at Sophie. “Yah. He joined the pack eight days ago.” So much had happened in the last week that he really felt like there should have been more time to account for everything.
“How’s he settling in?” Nate asked.
“Surprisingly well. I figured that there would be some kind of trouble between Hardison and Quinn but so far, they seem to be keeping things pretty balanced. Parker goes back and forth between treating him like another brother or a skittish puppy.” Eliot couldn’t help a smirk as he thought of a few of those moments.
“So, he’ll be staying permanently?” Sophie looked out the window.
“I think so. He seems pretty determined to fit in with us and as long as him and Hardison don’t have major problems, I think we’ll all be fine.” Eliot looked at Sophie. “Why? Is there something wrong? Something I should know about?”
She turned to him. “No, nothing at all. I just worry over you three.” She smiled and leaned back in the seat.
Eliot knew that she did worry but now he wondered what else she knew. He looked at her over top of his sunglasses but decided that now wasn’t the time to pursue whatever this was.
Nate drummed his fingers against the seat. “I’m sure Hardison’s already got us all on a flight to Lisbon but…”
Eliot cut Nate off. “No but. I need all of us out of Morocco as fast as possible. And after that I’d really appreciate having you guys back at the pub for a little while. I know you’ll wanna…”
Nate gripped Eliot’s shoulder. “I was going to ask if it would upset things if we came back to Portland for a visit.”
“Oh.” Eliot smiled. “That’d be really great.” His wolf needed the whole pack in the same place for just a little while. Eliot knew it wouldn’t take long for Nate and Sophie to get restless again but at least for a little bit he could have everyone together.
“It’s good to have family.” Sophie smiled and took Nate’s hand.