Page 25 of Ruthless Moon

The rapid beat of her heart reaches my sensitive ears, signaling her distress. A distinct smell of fear, worry, and an unknown element, as slick as oil, clings to her, adding another layer of complexity to this convoluted situation.

She isn’t afraid of the two approaching men, that much is clear. She whirls on them and shoves an envelope toward one of the men, yet her gaze isn’t focused on him. Her clear blue eyes find me over his shoulders.

Her mouth parts into a soft “oh,” surprise etched on her features. She hadn’t expected to see me again. The look of pain that briefly flits through her eyes stings my wolf, a fresh wound on our shared soul.

Being here with her, seeing her, touching her, it’s a dangerous dance, each step making it harder to execute my planned departure. But there’s no choice.

I have to leave. For both of us.

“She’s sure this will do the trick without her?” The one who calls himself Jace takes the envelope, advancing on Gen with a predatory step.

A guttural snarl escapes my throat as I spring forward, positioning myself as a barrier between Gen and the unwelcome males. “Back off, asshole.”

Bast joins me, creating a united front against them, a similar intimidating growl rippling from his chest. They are sizable opponents, and while Bast and I may prefer to avoid a brawl because we were taught good manners by our mother...we would win.

The second man grabs Jace’s arm, tugging him back. “Bro, let’s go. We can’t do this. VonBrandt would lose his shit if we started something up here and so would Travis.”

Ignoring the distraction, I maintain eye contact with Jace, a primal show of dominance. “Don’t come back. You’re not welcome in these mountains.”

Bast takes an aggressive step forward, his anger mirroring my own. “Tell your alpha if they send anyone else it will be viewed as an act of war.”

“Yeah, yeah. Got it,” the other man says again, managing to finally pull Jace’s attention away.

Jace glares at me, his pride obviously wounded by our dismissal.

Fuck him.

His alpha should’ve known better. Moonbound wolves are human in most aspects, but we are extremely territorial. And these guys had grossly overstepped and disrespected every pack in the area by coming in and trying totakesomeone that didn’t belong to them.

Without another word, they turn and retreat.

Bast tracks their exit from the porch and into the parking lot, leaving Gen and me in a cocoon of tension-laden privacy.

With a slow, reluctant turn of my body, I face the mate I’ll never be able to claim.

Gen is looking down at the worn, wooden planks beneath her boots. Her stare is focused on something only she can see.

“You okay?” I ask, my question a somber attempt to break the uncomfortable silence.

“I’m fine.” She’s lying.

“They’re gone.” I reach out tentatively to put a hand on her arm, but she recoils as if I were a live wire, threatening to shock her. My heart constricts painfully.Fucking hell.

“Why are you here?” She rubs her hands up and down her arms. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“Aiden ordered us to follow them, to make sure they leave town for real. And then—” My voice trails off, but the words linger in the air like floating embers from a dying fire.

Her gaze, previously anchored to the ground, suddenly snaps up to meet mine. “And then what?”

“I’m leaving.” The words fall heavily from my lips.

She swallows slowly, the movement seeming to take an immense effort, and nods. Then she sucks back a sob, a pitiful gasp that sounds like it’s been torn from the bottom of her soul.

Fuck.

I step forward, the porch boards creaking at my weight. I corner her gently against the roughened wood of the porch pillar and wrap my arms around her, pulling her tight against my chest. The edges of my heart rub raw with the intensity of her pain.

She burrows her face into my chest and sobs.

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