“Did you… Did you feel that?”I asked Rowan and Sam.
“I did,”Rowan answered. He was already backing away from his brother, shaking his head as if he was drunk. This was bad, because if Rufus pursued his advantage now, it would be all over.
My brother wasn’t doing much better either, and it didn’t take long for our opponents to overpower us. But that spark of light that had distracted us was exactly what saved us, refusing to let us give up.
“Luna?”I couldn’t help but ask.“Luna? Is that you?”
I didn’t receive a reply, not through the bond, at least. The sound of a loud scream echoed from the hut behind us. I recognized the voice as belonging to Andrea. It was only for a moment, and then Andrea’s cry was cut off, dying into a gurgling noise.
A beautiful silver wolf leaped out into the open, covered in blood. I would’ve known her anywhere. Even leaving aside the distinctive coloring of her fur, Luna’s presence alone made our connection sing with joy. The chaos pulsed over us, pulling us toward one another.
“Luna! Oh my God, you’re alive.”
How was this possible? She’d been poisoned and I’d just watched her die. Or had I? Her heart had stopped, yes, and I’d thought our bond had been cut off. But maybe that hadn’t been completely true. Werewolves could recover from all kinds of injuries, and Luna had always been stronger than most people believed.
There was just one problem. Our connection with Luna was still shaky and she still hadn’t answered us. In fact, when she looked at us, I saw no recognition in her eyes.
Her pupils were red-rimmed with crimson, just like Stuart’s had been the night we’d killed him. She growled at me and took a step forward.
Alpha Clayton laughed again. “Back away. Let her pass.”
The other werewolves did, giving Luna room and not interfering with her approach. Even Rufus listened, although I couldn’t for the life of me tell why.
And that was when I realized that maybe I’d been a little too optimistic when I’d thought Luna was an exception to the rule. She was still a part of the Clayton bloodline. Not every single Alpha family had to bear this kind of curse, but the Claytons did, and it had been stupid of us to forget that.
I remembered the moment when Luna had devoured the bear’s heart and wondered if she’d do the same to me today. Somehow, I found I didn’t fear it. If that was truly what she wanted to do, I would allow it. After all, there was nothing I wouldn’t do for my mate, and even if she was miraculously still alive, we’d still failed her.
Eleven
Chapter 11
Luna
When I cracked my eyes open in the hut, the first thing I became aware of was the pain. My body felt like it had been torn asunder, and there was a gaping hole somewhere inside me, a void scratching at the back of my consciousness.
Growling, I fought back, and a thread of something clear and bright responded to my desperate struggle. My limbs started working properly, and the pain faded, if only a little.
But even as my vision cleared, I found the world tinted red, a bloody crimson that enveloped me in a welcoming embrace. It was hypnotizing, and it showed me what I needed to do.
Somewhere in the room with me, there was another wolf. A female. A challenger. Someone who’d slighted me. When I looked around, I immediately saw her. She wasn’t looking at me. She lay slumped against the floor, drained of strength.
Weak. Pathetic. Undeserving of being part of my pack, or even in my presence. A distant memory flashed through my head. It vanished as soon as it appeared, but it left behind an imprint. She’d been important to me at one point, but she’d also betrayed me. I didn’t remember how it had happened, but that didn’t matter.
The crimson howled in my mind, but I didn’t howl along with it. That would have been stupid and would’ve given away my advantage. I still had a lot of prey to hunt, once I was done with the female.
I jumped out of the bed, landing on all fours right on top of the female. The other wolf didn’t sense me coming. By the time she realized what was going on, I’d already buried my fangs in her throat and ripped it out.
It was almost too easy, but at the same time, it made me feel off, as if I’d just scratched an itch, but accidentally made it worse. With a frustrated growl, I abandoned the body of the female and jumped out of the hut.
A group of werewolves were already waiting for me. I’d sensed them earlier, so their presence didn’t come as a surprise. I knew my prey was somewhere amongst them. I just had to sniff it out. My first kill had reminded me of my true goal, of how much I wanted to sink my fangs into the flesh of my target. And they were right here, waiting for me, taunting me with their presence.
“Let her pass,” one of the males told the others. They obeyed him, and I instantly identified him as the Alpha. A threat.
For a few seconds, I hesitated. I knew him too. Something inside me lurched, howling at me to attack him. But he became irrelevant when I sensed my true prey.
Two identical golden wolves looked at me with pleading eyes. “Luna?” one of them whispered, his voice barely audible over the roaring of the crimson in my head.
Another male joined them. He was larger and older than the duo, but he emanated the same emotion, a strange yearning that made my fur stand on end. “Luna, I know you’re confused and afraid,” he said. “You don’t have to be. We’re here for you.”
