Page 121 of Wolf's Endgame

“I do.” Barbara gave me a small smile. “It’s why I came here. I knew you were running. Running from it. I wanted to see for myself if you truly did not want to form the bond, and if not, I would help you break it.” Wearily she leaned back even more, getting comfortable. “But you were both so blind to each other. Anyone could see how you both needed it, wanted it.”

I couldn’t stop the smile as I remembered the fools we had been. “We were stupid.”

“You are stubborn,” she corrected with a gentle look. “Both of you. I could have left, but I liked it here. He is a good alpha, your mate.” Barbara looked around her room. “It is hard to be a druid. Many shun us, preferring the blindness of a shaman to see what they cannot see themselves. I keep my calling to myself, but I am always at the service of Luna.”

“She made you stay here?”

Barbara shook her head. “No. I would like to stay here. It feels like home, and I…” She licked her lips nervously. “I would like to remain close to you.” Seeing my eyes widen, she hurried on. “I know you have no trust in me, but I care for you, Kezia.” She broke my stare. “Your mother would kick my ass if I left you now.”

I didn’t know how I felt about that. She had saved me, but she had also lied to me. I had had enough of lies; it didn’t matter who they were from. Not anymore. My trust levels were low.

“Tell me what you did,” I hounded her.

“Luna sent the signs. I knew something bad was coming, more than war. Cannon felt it too. He came to me. It was my house he stood outside. Luna called him to me. When I answered the door, I didn’t know what she wanted. Cannon and I talked, and I could feel your newly formed bond.” She broke off with a faraway look in her eye. “It was so new, so strong, I could practically see it.”

“See it?”

Barbara nodded quickly. “There was an aura around him; it was almost golden.”

Royce had said Moonstar had healed Cannon with magic that was golden. An uneasy feeling churned in my belly. “Golden?”

Barbara gave a soft laugh. “Silly, I know. A bond is not physical, it cannot be seen.” Blowing out a breath, she continued. “I know how to break a bond. I know that, while it cannot be seen, it can be felt. I also know that a strong bond can be”—she looked at me quickly—“stretched.”

“Stretched?” There was a dangerous undertone to my voice I didn’t recognize, but Barbara did.

“I pulled the bond between you, and I tethered part of it, just a small part, to me. So that if anything were to happen to you, I would know and I would be ready.”

“Ready for what?”

“To save you, Kezia.”

“I was healed within days, so why keep me away for so long?” She said nothing and I watched her through narrowed eyes. “Moonstar? She fought you. She didn’t want to go, did she?” She still said nothing, but I pushed on. I knew I was right. “Moonstar was still in my body, wasn’t she? You tethered,” I spat the word out, “my bond to Cannon to you, but that left Moonstar in my body.” Anger thrummed through me. “Where is she?”

“She is gone. She is safe.”

“Where?” I demanded.

“I will not tell you.” She met my look squarely, and I knew in this, she would not bend. “It is so good to see you healthy, alive…demanding.”

I snorted, but in truth, I didn’t know if I should argue with her. I was back, wasn’t that all that mattered?

No. Moonstar mattered. She mattered a whole lot.

Looking at Barbara, I knew I’d need to figure it out another day. “So, my mate bond is broken?”

“Can you feel it?”

“I think…maybe?” Uncertainty swept through me. “I don’t know if it’s wishful thinking.”

She shifted her eyes down. “You need your heat to determine that.”

“Make my heat come.”

Another impatient frown. “I can’t do that, Kezia.”

“Yes, you can. You meddle with all of Luna’s cycle; meddle with mine.”

“It would be a false heat.” Reaching over, she patted my knee, and I fought the urge to rip off her arm. “Be patient.” Standing up, she looked down at me, tenderness in her gaze. “I know you do not trust me, but you will see, I only did what was best for you, Kezia.”

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