Page 51 of Ruthless Moon

The taste of him—wild and heady, like the forest after a storm—is seared onto my senses, an imprint I know will forever be part of me. Our mouths weave silent confessions. The heated whispers our bodies share in this intimate, dangerous dance create a language all our own. Unvoiced desires. Desperate yearning. Each slow, languid stroke of his tongue against mine is a tantalizing promise of the depth of intimacy we could share, if only...

His hands cup my face again, fingers caressing the curve of my cheeks with a reverence and longing that makes my soul weep. We’re teetering on the edge, a precipice so alluring, so dangerously tempting that stepping back seems like the greater sin.

But then our eyes meet. We both freeze, time standing still in the chaos of naked desire and our star-crossed love story. A silent understanding passes between us.

We cannot do this. We can’t. The mate bond would solidify, tethering our physical bodies. Everything would be ruined.

His eyes, deep wells of amber, hold a world of regret and resolve. Gently, he rolls to the side, severing the magnetic pull between our bodies. The sudden absence of his touch is a gaping void.

A void soon filled by the bitter chill of reality.

The sensual fog that had enveloped us gradually lifts, replaced by a painful silence.

A strangled sob escapes my lips and fresh tears trail down my cheeks. Tears for what could have been. Tears for the words I can never say.

“For the pack and the coven.” My words are etched in sorrow. It’s a vow, a pledge that wraps around my heart with the heaviness of sacrifice.

Liam, my fated mate, chosen by magick, the man I’mnotdestined to be with, merely nods.

“Yes,” he says, a single solitary word echoing with a sea of emotions.

An urgent need to escape claws at me. If I stay any longer, my resolve will crumble under the weight of my own longing. I need to run. I need the solace of the wilderness and the instincts of my wolf.

I bolt upright from the bed.

“No, Gen!” Liam calls out.

But I’m already gone, fleeing from the cabin and the man I yearn for. His shouts die behind me as the porch gives way to grass beneath my feet.

I let out a tormented cry as I shift, welcoming the familiar surge of my wolf taking over. The wolf simplifies everything, reducing the overwhelming storm in my head into a singular focus—instinct.

I’ll hunt tonight.

Seek solace in distraction.

I’m desperate to purge my mind of the lingering taste of his lips and the imprint of his touch on my skin. Desperate to forget about the mate I cannot have and the man I am bound to marry to save everyone from a bloody war.

I run, letting the wind and the falling darkness swallow my anguished howl, surrendering to the heart-wrenching agony of lost love.

Chapter Eighteen

The Rules Are Clear

LIAM O’CONNOR

As the first light of dawn creeps over the horizon, the moon loosens its hold. My wolf recedes, claws give way to fingers, and I’m Liam again, standing naked at the edge of the forest. Gen’s cabin is only a few yards away.

I didn’t runwithGen, but stayed close enough that she knew I hadn’t left her.

I shiver, not from the chill of the early morning, but from anticipation. She’s near. Her scent is a wildfire that burns in my veins. Breathing deeply, I steel myself for another day of silent longing and controlled desires.

She did the right thing last night, pulling away.

I lost control.

As I reach the porch of the cabin, I see her off to my right. She’s just shifted back to human, her eyes still gleaming amber with her wolf right at the surface. Her body is sleek and strong and naked and exquisite.

Our gazes lock, and that one moment shatters any semblance of preparation I thought I had. The intensity that flashes in her eyes is raw, unfiltered—a mirror to my own emotions.

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