Page 28 of Moonlit Choosing Ritual

I didn’t know what to say, so I kept quiet. This outing was nice. Alpha Liam was perfect for me. But—

He placed his hands on my shoulders. “Let’s marry tomorrow. Please.”

Dread dropped like an icy block in my stomach and goosebumps lined my skin. “I—”

“Please, Kimble. I know you’re the one for me,” he goaded.

Before I could reply, a deafening growl filled the space, leaving us both shocked. I turned my head and my body stiffened, my face turning ashen as Alpha Talon came into view.

Liam, too, spun and his eyes widened. “You?” He turned to face Talon, shielding me from his vision, his face contorting in fury. “How did you enter my pack’s territory?”

Talon’s muscles bulged, and he looked like he was going to go wild. His eyes were like raging infernos, flashing golden, andhe was practically snarling like a feral beast. Kenzie and a few others I didn’t recognize flanked his side.

It had been ten days since I had last seen him. He looked disheveled, chaotic, insane with murderous energy in his eyes. His body exuded anger, his powerful aura spilling out like he would burn everything in his path. He had grown a beard and there were dark circles under his eyes. His hair reached his shoulders, fluttering around his neck.

I had to clench my teeth to keep them from chattering as familiar fear returned with full force.

“Didn’t Aria tell you I’d bought this girl?” Talon seethed as he took a step toward me, ignoring Liam’s question. “For three million dollars.”

“Talon,” Liam warned as he looked to the left and right. “Kimble doesn’t want to go with you. Leave my pack!”

Talon chuckled darkly. “Move or I’ll kill you,” he said in a calm but lethal voice.

Without looking at me, Liam mumbled, “Kimble, run!”

When my feet didn’t move, he shouted, “Kimble, run!”

I pivoted on my heels and ran. I don’t know what happened, but within a few minutes, the place became a battlefield.

I sprinted at top speed, a menacing growl echoing from behind. All at once, a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist and effortlessly lifted me into the air.

“Where are you going?” Talon hissed.

“Nooo!” I shouted.

Ordering something to his wolves, he sprinted so fast that the forest around me was a blur of darkness.

Within seconds he was sitting in the back seat of a car with me caged in his arms, and we were speeding down the highway back to his pack. “Drive!” he barked to Kenzie, at the wheel.

I screamed and hit him with my fists, but he didn’t let go and bore my blows in silence. When I got tired, I stopped hittinghim and sagged in his lap, crying. Talon only tightened his arms around me and let me cry. My life had turned upside down in a few minutes. I should’ve left the Eclipse pack as soon as I arrived.

But there was something that nagged at the back of my mind. A thousand questions arose. How did Talon know where I was?

Did Aria tell him I’d run away to Liam’s pack? What had she said? Shit. Shit. Double shit. Was Talon going to lock me away? I guess my fate was sealed.

Thorns of panic and fear pricked me. I tipped my head up and looked at him. “Are you going to imprison me?”

He slanted his head as his amber eyes fixed on me. His Adam’s apple bobbed. “In a way,” he replied in a calm, husky voice. “You shouldn’t have run away.”

Chapter 15

Kimble

When we arrived at Talon’s manor, the car rolled to a stop like the end of a long, exhausting journey. Kenzie stepped out and opened the door, but when I tried to move from his lap, his arms tightened around me, a growl low in his chest, as if I were a bird trying to fly too soon from its nest.

“I’m going to my room,” I rasped, my voice barely above a whisper. “Where can I run now?” I felt shattered, like a vase dropped from a height, too broken to even bother picking up the pieces.

Ignoring my words, he lifted me from the car and carried me inside, all the way to his room. Why here? Why his room? It wasn’t until he kicked the door shut behind us that he set me down. Trembling, I scanned the room, expecting chains to bind me like a prisoner. But there were none. My gaze flickered to him, my lips trembling. “Do you want me to be Aria’s slave too?”

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