Page 75 of Bull Moon Rising

“Oh, look,” calls out a bright, familiar voice. “You’re just in time.”

Then Aspeth is in front of me, her expression cheery as she pushes through the crowd. She’s wearing her cloak over a dress, her hair is mussed, and her cheeks are flushed from the heat of the bar. Am I imagining things, or are her eyes shining with relief? She tucks her arm into the crook of mine and steers me toward the door. “It’s late and you’re here to see me home, right?”

I know what she’s up to. She’s leading me away from whoever it was that she met in this bar. I’m not an idiot. I ignore her tugs on my arm as she tries to drag me outside, pausing to look around at the crowded room again. Everyone is staring at us, but I don’t know if it’s because a human woman is leaving with a Taurian or if there’s something else at play. I wait for one man in particular to sack up, to separate himself from the crowd and announce that I can’t leave with his woman, but after a moment, they all turn back to their drinks.

No one’s going to admit that they were here with Aspeth. I glance down at my wife’s overbright smile and realize she’s not going to tell me anything, either.

The urge to spank her grows stronger by the moment. Scowling, I go with her when she tugs on my arm this time.

We’re in the street and heading away from the tavern before Aspeth looks up at me. “You’re growling.”

Am I? It’s probably because I hate this. I hate this place full of men who probably wouldn’t think twice about groping my wife. I hate that she’s put herself in this situation. I hate that no one’s telling me anything.

So aye, I’m probably gonna growl for a while. Anyone would in my situation. “You want to tell me what was going on in there?”

She blinks up at me. “Not really?”

It just makes my temper flare. I jerk to a stop in the street and resist the second urge to shake a woman this night. I grab Aspeth by the shoulders tightly. “You foolish woman. Why are you out here alone in the middle of the night? Don’t you know it’s not safe?”

Her expression grows uneasy. “I know.”

“Then why? Why?” When she doesn’t answer, my tail slaps against my thigh, as furious as I am. “Why were you meeting a man out here?”

Her brows furrow together. “I didn’t say I was meeting a man—”

“Why would you meet a woman at a pub in Vastwarren? At midnight?” I gesture back at the bar, furious, because I remember Gwenna’s words about how Aspeth had no choice in the matter. “Is someone blackmailing you?” Another thought blisters through my mind and fills me with an incoherent rage.“Did someone touch you?”

I might have to go back and murder everyone in the bar.

There must be something unhinged in my gaze as she reaches up and pats my chest. “I’m fine, Hawk. Truly, I do appreciate your concern, but I promise you that no one has molested me. Everyone was very polite and focused upon their drinks.”

I eye her, trying to determine if she’s lying. If she’s covering up for the situation because she knows I’m already furious at her. I cup her chin, tilting her face up, and look for bruises or marks. There’s nothing, and her clothing looks rumpled but every button is in place, even the tightest one at the throat. I release her, resisting the urge to run my thumb over her pretty, plump mouth. “Humph.”

“I ate a lot of onions to be as repellent as possible,” she tells me in a hopeful voice. “If that helps anything.”

It doesn’t, because now I know thatshe knows she was in dangerand went anyhow. “I’m going to ask you one more time, and you need to answer me honestly,” I say, voice low and careful. “Do I need to go in there and kill someone? I won’t ask any more than that. Just tell me who and I’ll make it happen. I can hide the body where it will never be found.” Already I’m thinking of tunnels that would be easy to collapse, who I’d need to bribe to look the other way when I descend into the ruins.

She blinks up at me, then a smile spreads across her face. “You’d do that for me? I’m flattered.”

“It’s not meant to be a compliment.” I’m back to wanting to throttle her. I grab her by the arm and note that she does smell quite oniony. “Just…come on.”

Aspeth is silent as I drag her through the streets. Good. I hope she realizes what a mistake this was. I hope she’s realizing that her loyalty is to the guild first. Tomefirst.

It occurs to me that I’m jealous.

I don’t like that. I don’t like that at all. But as she won’t tell meanything about who she was meeting, my mind continually circles back to the worst possible scenarios. Who else would you meet at midnight except an old flame? Is she looking for a way to back out of our marriage, then? Trying to get away from the beast she finds herself hitched to? Is that why she won’t tell me what’s going on?

The thought makes my temper flare and the painful tightness swell at the base of my cock. It’s possessiveness that makes me furious. Aspeth is my wife, has sworn that she’ll take part in the Conquest Moon with me. Has sworn to help me out as I help her. This isn’t about feelings, I remind myself even as I furiously stomp my hooves on the cobblestones and glare at anyone who dares to walk down the same darkened streets as we do.

Does it matter if she has a lover?I ask myself.A flame she left behind? She married you. She’s in your bed. It shouldn’t matter.

But…it does. The Conquest Moon and Taurian instinct are fucking with my head, demanding that I claim my woman, demanding that I fight anyone who tries to take her from me.

A drunken group of men spill out of a nearby tavern and she instinctively moves closer to me. They look rough and rowdy, and my protective instincts prick. There’s an entire lineup of taverns in this part of town, all of them seedier than the last. Rather than drag Aspeth past and ask for trouble, I steer her toward the darkened alley to the side. “Come on.”

“Is this the right way?” she protests, trotting after me.

“Shortcut.”

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