Page 68 of Vicious Luna

“Yes, but…” I heave a frustrated sigh, taking a step backwards to put some much-needed distance between us. Because even though I want to say ‘fuck it’ and climb him like a tree right now, he needs to have all the facts.

“Your wolf can’t help but be drawn to me because I’m your mate,” I admit.

He flinches back, his brows drawing together in confusion. “Because we fucked?”

“What? No!” I snap in frustration. “That has nothing to do with it. It’s this whole…thing, with the moon.” I huff out a breath, scrambling to determine how to explain the concept of fated mates to someone who, up until a few days ago, thought he was human. “You’ve heard of soulmates, right?” I ask tentatively.

He jerks a nod.

“Well, this is like that, but different.” I scrub my hands over my face, sighing again. “Basically, all shifters have a fated mate out there; someone who’s their other half. Not everyone finds the person who’s meant for them, but if they do, then the bond snaps in when they’re together under the full moon. That’s what happened the other night when you shifted, and Ithink our bond is what actually triggered your first shift. Your wolf must’ve finally broken through your mental barriers because he recognized his mate.”

Cam frowns, staring at me as he chews over all the information I just dumped on him. “And you’re just telling me thisnow?” he growls.

“Well when was I supposed to tell you, when I was running for my life?” I scoff, throwing my arms up dramatically. “It’s not like I was expecting you to suddenly turn into a wolf!”

“Yeah, me neither,” he fires back. “But some fuckin’ context would’ve been nice while I was in the middle of an identity crisis, dontcha think?”

“Don’t you dare try to turn this on me!” I shout, glowering at him. “You held me prisoner forweeks, Cam.Weeks!I finally had a chance to get away, so I took it. What’d you want me to do, stick around to be tortured right beside you? Die in that cell?”

His expression shutters, his frown deepening. “No,” he mumbles, that haunted quality returning to his eyes. “I’m glad you got away.”

My throat bobs with a hard swallow. “I’m glad you did, too,” I reply quietly.

A tense silence settles between us, the mate bond humming in my chest and my inner wolf whining in discontentment as I resist the urge to go to Cam and offer him comfort.

“Do you wanna sit down again?” I ask, gesturing to the chairs.

“No.”

I nod stiffly. “Okay, I guess I’ll just go, then,” I mumble, my heart sinking in disappointment as I pivot toward the door.

“Don’t.”

I swivel back around to find Cam dragging a hand down his face, blowing out a harsh breath. “It’s not my wolf,” hemurmurs, showing more emotion in his expression than I’ve ever seen from him. “You want the truth? Well, here it is. I’ve been obsessing over you since the day you were brought in, when I pulled up the camera feed and saw you freaking out over what those guys were doing to your friend.”

He advances toward me, my heart beating harder with every step. “Most people would cower out of a sense of self-preservation, but not you. You’re fucking fierce, Avery. You never once took your captivity lying down, never gave up, even when your own life was in danger.” He stops when we’re toe-to-toe, his gaze dropping down my body. “And yeah, I’m attracted to you. You’re sexy as fuck.” His eyes lock with mine again. “But it’s more than that, always has been.”

“Cam…” I whisper.

He reaches up to take my chin in a hand, pressing the pad of his thumb into my lower lip to silence me. “I tried to fight it. Tried to tell myself that we were just playing each other. But we weren’t, were we?”

I give a little shake of my head, unable to resist darting my tongue out to lick his thumb. Because he’s right- I’ve always liked him more than I should’ve, especially considering he was the asshole keeping me locked up in a cell. And when the bond snapped in that night, it only confirmed that my feelings were valid all along.

That still doesn’t change the shitty circumstances that brought us together in the first place, though, or the fact that he’s partially responsible for all the death and destruction the hunters’ Guild wrought.

Cam’s gaze flickers down to track the movement of my tongue, and when it lifts again, his dark eyes are smoldering with devious intent. He tips my chin up at the same time he leans down, but before our lips can brush, I grab for his wrist, yanking his hand from my face as I pull back to look at him.

“That doesn’t mean this can work,” I grit out, trying my best to ignore both the needy throb pulsing between mythighs and the fact that I’m craving his touch right now more than oxygen. “Like I said, the damage is already done.”

His hand drops to grip my hip, lips twisting in a scowl. “Because of who I am, or the part I played in your captivity?”

“Both,” I breathe.

“Then what the fuck am I supposed to do here?” Cam growls, his fingers tightening around my hip and tugging my body into his. His chest heaves with his ragged breathing, his eyes glittering gold as he glares down at me. “Just tell me, and I’ll fucking do it.”

I lift my chin to meet his stare defiantly. “Get on your knees.”

“What?” he asks gruffly, brow furrowing.

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