Page 61 of Cardinal House

Wolf leads me down a short, cosy hallway, before pushing open a wooden door that leads into a bright bathroom. He lets me enter first, pushing a lock across the door at his back.

“Come here, baby girl.”

Wolf opens his arms wide, thick muscles bunching under his smart, white shirt, and when I step into him, those arms closing around me, I take what feels like my first deep breath of the night.

“You’re okay, Little Moon. I’ve got you, take your time,” he whispers, kissing the top of my head, his hands a strong, hot heat over my bare spine. “I’ve always got you, baby.”

He lets me close my eyes, sinking into his hold, his warmth drawing me in deeper, his strong body opening up to me, embracing me, cloaking me, shielding me.

I take long, deep breaths, breathing him in, lilies and teakwood, a strong, rich, masculine, scent with a subtle floral fragrance to break it up.

I could fall asleep like this, his hold firm and tight without squeezing, my face over his heart, the solid beat of it drumming loud in my ear, soothing me into a tranquil calm.

My monster.

“I feel better now,” I tell him quietly, after who knows how long, but he still doesn’t rush me, holding me nice and tight, his back resting against the door, his chin on the top of my head.

“We can take as long as you want.”

“I know,” I say, pulling back a little, so he can lift his chin.

Wolf stares down at me, the point of my own chin resting against his sternum, his warm yellow gaze flickers over mine, checking my truth.

I hear him saying it inside my head before he speaks, but he says the words anyway, “Blackwells don’t tell lies,” he smirks down at me, this decadent curl to his plush lips.

“I’m not a Blackwell,” I respond, in the same way I always do.

But then he says with a sharp smile, “Not yet.”

He doesn’t give me enough time to react, to feel shy, for my cheeks to flush pink, because he presses his mouth to mine, slipping his tongue between my lips and devouring me like he’s never tasted anything so sweet. He leaves me gasping and breathless when he breaks off the kiss, my eyes still closed, and his arms still embracing me. Curling me up into his chest and keeping me safe.

In this moment, I don’t think about my memories, my past, all of the things that keep flicking through my mind, making me feel unsteady with the world and my place in it. Because Wolf Blackwell is mine and I am his and nothing could ever possibly ruin that.

Chapter 27

Luna

Wolf waits outside the door while I use the facilities and wash my hands. I look up at my reflection in the mirror, shaking droplets from my fingers into the basin, and reach up to sweep a few stray black hairs away from my face.

I hear Wolf’s laugh beyond the door, this deep, gravelly sound that sets my core alight, and has one corner of my mouth lifting with a secret smile. I pull open the door, his broad back to me, shielding me from whichever brother it is he’s speaking to, but he turns as soon as he senses the door opening. Twisting towards me with a dark, but bright smile, he takes me into his arms, pressing a kiss to my head.

“Vito,” Wolf starts, turning us back to a man who is definitely not one of his brothers, “this is my Luna.”

Suddenly, everything seems to happen in both fast and slow motion all at once.

The man’s smile drops, morphing into shock, then a sharp, violent frown. His icy-blue eyes flare wide, and before I can blink, he’s pulling a gun and aiming it at Wolf’s chest.

I think it’s my cry that startles us all, prompting the sudden sound of footfalls to come flooding into the hall. I’m in front of Wolf, despite his grunt, the harsh grip of his hand on the back of my neck, but my arms wind behind me, banding around his back, my fingers locking together, and the barrel of the gun is pointing in my face.

“You have three seconds to explain to me what the fuck is going on, Wolf.”

“What the fuck do you mean?!” Wolf explodes at my back.

“Luna,” Vito says, an accent curling my name, extenuating it with an oon sound in its centre.

The man, Vito, grabs hold of me and violently shoves me behind him, holding me painfully flush with his spine as I turn my head to find Stryder and Thorne in the mouth of the hall.

I’m trembling, my eyes wide, locked on Wolf’s brother and father, my still taped fingers fisting up beneath my chin. I can feel my tears soaking into the fabric of the stranger’s shirt, staining it with streaks of mascara. My knees wobble in time with my bottom lip and my breathing is too fast, uneven, my eyes bulging.

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