Page 15 of Ruthless Moon

I’ll cave. If I don’t walk away, then I’ll be the death of him. And that fate would be worse than living my life without him.

I finish untying Meredith’s hands and then crawl over to her feet, starting on the next knot.

I glance up at the man who’d been holding her. “My father will kill you. He will hunt you down. Chop you up into little pieces and then he’ll hunt down your friends and your family and do the same. You don’t understand what you’ve done.”

He frowns and shakes his head like he doesn’t believe me. “We need her to heal a little girl back home. She’s the only witch strong enough to fix her.”

He’s an imbecile. They both are, but apparently I’m not going to convince either of them of their misstep.

“Back off.” Liam snarls at the guy again and moves closer, giving off super-strong possessive vibes that make me feel all tingly on the inside.

The stranger takes a couple of quick steps back. So does his accomplice. They both raise their hands. And the first one speaks. “We can’t go back empty-handed.”

“Then you won’t go back at all.” Liam’s voice is dark, smooth, and full of violence.

The other men are silent at the not-so-veiled threat.

I try not to stare at Liam. I sense the exact moment when his focus settles back on me. It’s like being bathed in sunshine on a cloudy day. The worries and fears surrounding my father and my unhappy forced fate fade away temporarily in the warmth.

Meredith touches my arm and I look back at her, studying her closely. The way her green eyes sparkle with bits of gold like ours do when our wolves show. I can feel it—the magick—below the surface of her skin. Now that I’m thinking about it. Looking for it.

“Are you really a witch?” I ask, picking at the tight knots binding her ankles.

Meredith nods an affirmative and then glances over my shoulder in the direction of Liam. “You have a problem, don’t you, Gen?”

I look away from her knowing stare. If I don’t admit it out loud, it’s not real, right? I certainly can’t admit out loud that I found my fated mate after getting engaged to another person. The more people who know, the more danger Liam is in from my father.

Meredith gives a small sigh and then waves her hand at Liam and the other man holding a rifle. “Put the guns away, boys.” Then she turns to the one who’d been carrying her. “Look, I will write the spell to fix the little girl. Just tell me what happened, but I’m not at liberty to disappear from Oliver’s premises. You’ll not be taking me anywhere.”

I’d assumed my father was holding something over Meredith to keep her hostage in the house. She’d never been willing to explain. And I also assumed it had something to do with her daughter, Emma, being attached at the hip to my brother Finn.

And I still don’t knowexactlywhat is going on, but her response certainly confirms my suspicions that she is living in our home against her will.

“Why are you even here? Aiden’s going to lose his shit when he finds out,” Liam asks, keeping his voice soft. “What does Oliver have on you? Tell us how to help.”

I twist my neck and look back at Liam. They know Meredith. They know she’s a witch. And Meredith knows them.

There’s so much going on here below the surface. I didn’t even know witches existed until this very moment. And if Meredith’s a witch, is Emma? In wolves, you’re only born a wolf if your father is a wolf.

Liam’s gaze burns into me like a brand. Every naked inch of my skin tingles and my wolf preens. She likes his attention. I can’t say I don’t like it, but the rational part of my brain knows it’s dangerous.

“My daughter is mate-bonded to his son Finn.” Meredith’s tone of voice exposes her frustration with the situation clearly.

Finn is mate-bonded? Like a soul mate? Like Emma issupposedto be his.

Jealousy grows in me like field bindweed, spreading and twisting its arrow-shaped leaves around my heart. I’ll never be able to get rid of it.

My brother gets a fated mate.

He gets to be happy and fulfilled with the person Fate gave him.

“Katherine and Siobhan were adamant that we needed you specifically.” Jace and the other man haven’t given up, but Meredith doesn’t seem worried about being carried off like loot in a Viking raid now.

Finn hasn’t publicly mentioned anything about Emma. And even though Meredith says they’re mated, I haven’t seen any mate-bond tattoos.

Maybe I missed them.

Maybe he’s hiding them?

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