Page 44 of Bound By Roses

How did I miss that? She’s been playing the game since the very beginning. She’s the reason Marein fell, yet my mother was the one branded a traitor. “Aurelia has some explaining to do,” I growl.

Abby lays a warm hand on my tightly balled fist. “She does.”

Her touch is instantly calming. If things were different, this could have been the perfect time and place. Just the two of us huddled under a blanket of stars. The ring in my pocket feels as if it bears the weight of all of them combined, and it’s equally as precious to me. I will ask her to marry me one day—on a night just like this—but I’ll wait until she feels safe in this world.

“What are you thinking?”

I take her hand in mine and bring it to my lips. “Just how beautiful you look in the moonlight.”

She shifts, and for a moment I wonder if I somehow said the wrong thing. “Do you ever feel like Lunalissa is watching us?”

That was random. I follow her gaze up to the moon now shining brightly above us. It’s just beginning to wane. Tonight is exactly the kind of night my curse would have forced the change and, before I met Abby, would have meant another near-month of roaming the forest on four legs. She broke my curse long before Jade’s sacrifice.

“I used to, but not anymore.” And then an idea hits me. This is as good a time as any and at least here it won’t cause a panic with the sirens. I unbutton my shirt and slide it off.

“What are you doing?” Abby bites at her bottom lip as she lets her eyes trace the lines of my chest—both muscle and scars.

I pinch the lip between my thumb and forefinger and free it from her teeth. “You have no idea what seeing you bite that lipdoes to me. There’ll be plenty of time for that, but not yet.” I stand and let her watch as I kick off my shoes and pull down my pants. Then, without warning, I shift.

Her gasp isn’t one of fear, but surprise. Her sudden smile is as warm as I feel under the weight of my fur. It feels like it’s been so long since I took this form, and this is probably the most willing I’ve been to do so. I know I’m not the monster I thought I was, but those memories are still there. The less time I spend in this form, the better.

“You could have told me that’s what you had in mind,” she chuckles.

‘Where’s the fun in that?’

She gasps again, and a hand flies to her mouth. “I heard you!” ‘Can you hear me?’

Well, that’s new. We shouldn’t be able to speak to each other like this. Or, at least, we never have before. I’ve heard her voice, though mostly her thoughts came in the form of scattered images. Flashes of whatever she was seeing and experiencing. Being about to hold an actual conversation was something I’d never thought possible.‘It must be the bond.’

‘Uh, I don’t think that’s it.’That voice wasn’t Abby’s. I jump so that I’m facing the darkness, and a low growl ripples through me on instinct. The fur on my back stands up straight as my haunches tense, more wolf than man.

“What’s wrong?” Abby asks.

‘You didn’t hear that?’

“Hear what?” She listens, suddenly fearful, as her eyes scan the darkness. Whatever calm we’d found has quickly dissipated.

‘Who are you?’It wasn’t Jade’s voice, so at least we don’t have to worry about that. But this could be anyone. I know Abby’s heard Void’s voice in her dreams, so if it was him fucking with us, she should have heard it, too.

‘Relax, Quinn. I didn’t mean to scare you. We’re almost there. Just give us a minute.’That sounded a heck of a lot like Ellis, but how?

Before I can demand an explanation, two wolves sprint into sight. The light of our fire bathes them enough for me to instantly recognize them. There’s movement behind me, and I turn just quickly enough to see Abby reach for my sword.

‘Abby, stop,’I tell her.‘It’s Ellis and Seamus.’

“What?” She drops the sword, and it lands with a clank on the hard stone. “I could have killed them!”

Seamus snorts and I shoot him a warning look. ‘Which one of you is going to tell me what’s going on?’

Ellis paws at the ground.‘We just went for a run when we heard you both.’

‘Wait—both?’I turn my head to Abby.‘Say something through the bond.’

Confusion colours her features, but she does as I ask.‘You like it when I bite my lip.’

Both Ellis and Seamus snort this time, though to human ears I’m sure it sounded more like synchronized sneezes.

‘They can hear you. Both of us.’

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