Page 44 of Ruthless Moon

Which isn’t fair.

He’s doing the best he can. He’s a good man. Kind. A good alpha to his pack from what I’ve seen so far.

“I have a cabin on the mountain where I shift. I don’t run with my father and brothers—ever,” I add, catching the flicker of surprise on his face.

He might think that this time should be different, that the looming threat of Mr. Darcy should change things. But it won’t. Nothing will compel me to run with my family, not even the risk of being shot by a grief-stricken vengeance-bent rancher.

His gaze meets mine and I see that alpha-protective stubbornness reflected back. He’s not letting it go.

“I can’t let you have this, Gen. I’m taking you back home. I would also be a fool to just let you stay alone somewhere for three days during the blood moon with someone out there trying to kill you. And your father would have my head. I can’t risk it.”

I know he can’t, but it doesn’t make me any less angry.

“The shooter is Mr. Darcy. My father bought his land and because the man put up a fight about selling, my father arranged to have the poor man’s wife and daughter killed in a car accident. He also had all of Darcy’s cattle killed by wolves.” I spit out the story, letting my anger vividly color my father into the villain he is.

All three men growlfuckin sync.

Even Lila releases a gaspeddamn.

I try again. Just in case. “You can let me go. He won’t care.”

“Gen,” he says, his voice hardening with the command of an alpha.

Dammit. Dammit. Dammit.

I need to get away from him, not have him stuck to me like one of my father’s watchdogs.

Now I have to hold myself together longer.

And hold back the truth trying to claw its way to the surface with every beat of my heart.

I don’t want this. With every breath. I don’t want this.

Chapter Fifteen

I Will Die on This Hill

IMOGEN GALLAGHER

Pissed doesn’t even begin to describe my mood. We didn’t even stay with Liam for an hour after Lila healed him. Aiden insisted we go and then called my father to tell him what happened (well, the version that didn’t include traveling into the hidden Banfield Court), herded me out of the coven, and drove me in an angry silence back through Ash Hollow and then up the mountain to my father’s house.

I storm up the steps barely clutching onto a veneer of calm. My stride is purposeful, my head held high despite the turmoil roiling within me.

Aiden, with his infuriating chivalry, brushes past me, reaching for the door before I can. The door swings open, held aloft by his firm grip as he ushers me inside.

Damn him and his gentlemanly manners.

I suppress the thank-you that perches on my tongue. Instead, I walk past him and toward my father’s office, my steps echoing in the hush of the grand foyer.

Before my hand can even connect with the door in a knock, it swings open. My father’s stern face greets me, his gaze sharp and accusatory.

“Father, I’m—”

“That fool rancher dared to take a shot at you in the middle of town and you still want to run off to your stupid cabin for the moon run tonight. Absolutely not.”

I spin around, my heart pounding like a wild drum in my chest. Aiden stands a few feet away, his towering figure a solid mass of strength and authority. My gaze sweeps over him, taking in his features hardened by worry and responsibility. His dark hair is tousled, as though he’s been running his fingers through it, a telltale sign of his frustration. But in this moment, I don’t care abouthisfrustration.

My fists clench at my sides, my nails biting into my palms as I grit my teeth. Blood pounds in my ears, a thunderous rhythm matching the fury surging within me.

---