Page 5 of Ruthless Moon

Once we’re back into the thick of the crowds, a strange sensation overcomes me.

It’s sudden. Warm. Inviting. Like a spring breeze. Or a tight hug.

“What?” Bast asks, his voice low and tight. “Did you hear something?”

“No. There’s something. I feel someone—” But no one is touching me. I survey the crowds looking for the source of my piqued interest. My skin tingles and I scan the area. Whatever—orwhoever—is close.

“There’s a lot of someones in town that don’t belong.”

“It’s something else, Bast.” I weave my way through laughing groups of couples and families and herds of teenagers. Bast is right on my heels.

The wave hits me again, and I look to the right. A woman in a red shirt is sitting on a bench in front of a small shop. Her head is between her legs like she’s having an anxiety attack or feeling nauseous. The air quivers around her, like heat waves from an open oven. The waves shimmer and dance and pull me closer.

Bast grabs my elbow, halting me midstride. “What are you doing?”

“Go to the steak house and wait across the street. I’ll be there in a few minutes. Call me if you see those two guys again. And be careful. There are alotof people in this town who shouldn’t be.”

He gives me a curt nod. “I know. Someone’s following us. I can feel it, but any time I stop and look...” He shrugs. “There’s nothing.”

“I know. I feel it too. Like there’s so much magick in the air I can taste it. Meet you at the restaurant.”

He grunts and continues down the road without me.

I turn back to the woman. Everything inside me warms when I look at her...like she—

And then I understand.

She’s my mate.

This is it. This is what my dad described, but I still never imagined how visceral it would be. How out of control I would feel. I don’t care about anything else except getting to her. Touching her. Claiming her. She’s what I’ve been missing.

I walk closer.

And closer.

Electric currents spark across my skin. When I reach her, she looks up and my heart stops. Her eyes are the color of the ocean, and I drown in them.

“Are you okay?” I ask softly, keeping my tone gentle. Something tells me if I startle her, she’ll run.

She doesn’t answer, but I see fear in her eyes. And something else too, something that makes me want to protect her from all the pain and evil in her world. I squat in front of her and put a hand on the bench to steady myself.

She reaches toward my face but doesn’t touch me. Her fingers come so close I feel the heat from her skin. I lean my head a fraction of an inch, touching my cheek to her fingertips, and she jolts, yanking her hand back.

“No. No. No.” Her lower lip quivers.

My wolf stirs in my chest.Mine.She’s mine. She’s my mate. This magick I see around her—the iridescence in the air.I’ve found her.

“I’m Liam,” I say.

Our eyes lock. A current of understanding passes between us, unspoken yet profound, as if pages of our shared pasts are suddenly laid bare in that single moment. She fills an empty space in my soul in a way I’d only dreamed would be possible. A warmth unfurls deep within me, a mixture of elation and awe. And as my heart swells with a joy I’ve never known before... I’ve finally found her.

Tears run down her cheeks.

Every single part of me wants to hold her close and comfort her. She whispersnounder her breath, so I don’t move. I don’t pull her into my arms. I stare into the bottomless depths of her eyes, wishing I knew what to do to help her.

“You can’t be real. Not today.” Her voice wobbles, low and breathy. “You have to go.”

My wolf growls deep in my chest. “You’re mine. Don’t you feel it? See it?”

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