Page 76 of Moonlighting with the Werewolf

“You will marry my daughter, Talia, and form an alliance with us, the Oldenwilde Coven. Or”—one side of Andromeda’s mouth twisted up, a cruel accent to how succinctly she was about to annihilate the last of my hopes and dreams—“Dr. Kerrigan Ryan will die.”

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

The letters blurred togetheras I scanned the long list of names, my burning eyes no longer wanting to cooperate. At least it was the last appointment scheduled for the day, and by squinting one eye closed, I managed to make out the name.

“Josiah Harris.”

The two people seated along the wall of the large community room stood, the man leaning most of his weight on the woman as she helped him into my curtained-off medical office. Once Conall and I returned to the compound, there’d been no time for mourning what we’d lost.

He departed to update his men; I had dozens of patients to attend to; and there was a wedding to throw together in a matter of days.

A wedding.The word reverberated through my head, and my vision blurred for a different reason than merely being tired. I quickly blinked away the tears, the same way I’d been forcing myself to do for the last four days.

Four days spent treating injuries, from most to least severe. Part of the bargain with the witches included lifting the hexon shifters who couldn’t regenerate anymore, but they weren’t going to release everyone until after Conall followed through on his promise. Andromeda acted as if she were being so generous, bestowing him with the ability to choose five werewolves who might not make it to the day of the wedding otherwise.

In reality, it was a malicious power play, aimed at pitting the Bridgewater and Crescent packs against each other. Also so she could lord it over him, that she was the one pulling the strings.

There was another spell involved, one placed on me, but it was yet another thing I did my best to pretend didn’t exist so I could get through my day. One minute at a time, one hour at a time.

I clutched my chest, the dull shoveling ache continuing to carve up my insides.

“Are you okay?” Sabine asked. “I can handle this if you need a break.”

Clenching my jaw so tightly I was surprised my teeth didn’t crack, I forced my resolve to overtake the misery. At least I pretended, as my overwhelming grief wasn’t that easy to shove aside. “I’m okay.”

Funny how one short week ago, Sabine’s skepticism wouldn’t have contained an ounce of compassion, and yet she’d aimed a steady beam my way since my return. Sasquatch stood nearby, as stoic as ever, watching every move like a hawk that knew it’d eventually have to swoop in and catch me when I cracked.

“I could use more coffee if you get a chance. Please and thank you.” Sleep hadn’t come for so many nights I couldn’t keep track of how long it’d been, so there was no reason to pretend I’d be able to doze off tonight. The thing about having your own life hanging over you, a constant threat that hinged on letting go of what you wanted most, was that it turned you into a pessimistic, bitter mess.

“I’ll get it.” The deep voice ignited every nerve ending in my body and shattered my heart in a million little pieces. As desperate as I was to soak in Conall’s profile or experience even a light brush of his fingers, the tears clogging my throat warned that if I gave in, I’d come unraveled.

Just make it through this last exam, and then you can head to Gina’s place and cry till your eyes swell shut.I’d rather not have my sight tomorrow anyway. How was I supposed to watch as the man I loved married another woman?

A fucking witch.

As we’d sat across from Andromeda, she explained they were under attack on two fronts. Werewolves on one side, and vampires on the other. Given everything I’d been through, the news about the vampires barely caused a blip.

Conall pointed out the coven’s quarrel was with the Crescent Pack, as they were responsible for the raids, and that he already planned to draw up and quarter their alpha for another betrayal.

But she didn’t care.

In order to save her coven, along with the other they’d aligned with, she and her sisterhood wanted to form an alliance that couldn’t be easily broken. And it involved her daughter, Talia, wedding the strongest alpha werewolf in the nation—Conall, naturally.

“A true uniting of the werewolves and witches,” she’d said, “where children will be born with both magic and the capacity to shift, ensuring the safety of our people for generations and centuries to come.”

I’d sat there vigorously shaking my head, wondering why Conall hadn’t been doing the same. Especially as conditions about fidelity and a literal till-death-do-you-part clause were covered. If he broke any of the stipulations, the Oldenwilde Coven would be awarded half of everything the Bridgewater Pack owned, as well as the land.

The terms Andromeda detailed wrote themselves across the paper, the words appearing like, well, magic.

On Saturday next, the alpha of the Bridgewater Pack pledges to marry Natalia Burroughs of the Oldenwilde Coven. If he fails to do so, the Sisterhood will view this as a declaration of war and will retract the offer to grant shifters their regenerative abilities, along with their truce and protection. Dr. Kerrigan Ryan’s life will be forfeit, and the entire terms of this contract will be null and void.

Vulnerability hung heavy in Conall’s features as he stretched out his hand and took hold of mine. “It’s the only way I can keep you alive, Kerrigan. The only way I can ensure my pack’s welfare. I love you and I’ll always want you, and in a different world, you’d be my mate and that’d be it. The freedom to choose is a big part of why I formed the Bridgewater Pack the way I did. But I’m afraid we don’t quite live in that world yet.”

I’d tried to argue, my objections tenuous at best. For the first time, I wished Conall was weaker and not an alpha or even a werewolf.

“One last condition,” Andromeda had said, and I’d wanted to lunge across the desk, shake the triumphant expression off her face, and tell her that someday, somehow, I’d find a way to destroy her myself.

But that’d endanger the lives of too many werewolves I considered part of my family.

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