Page 53 of The Blood Moon Oath

Maybe that’s why you’re still here.

I stare at Varek again, his confident smirk only reminding me of the life I thought I wanted. The life I left behind. The part of me that wants to run screams louder than I care to admit. But even as I think about escaping, I feel that tug toward the future I can’t yet see but feel deep in my bones.

What am I running from, really?

Varek’s presence, as comforting as it is, suddenly feels distant. It’s like I’ve outgrown it, like I’ve evolved past it. The life I had with him doesn’t make sense anymore. It’s not enough. It was never enough. Not when there’s this pull—thisuntapped power inside of me, ready to surface. Not when I have a chance tounderstandit.

I look at Varek, the man who represents everything I once was, everything I thought I wanted. And I realize, with a sick twist in my stomach, that it’s not the answer anymore. I’m not that person. I’m not the one who runs anymore.

But then, why do I feel like I’m standing on the edge of something I can’t control?

I don’t want to leave with him, not really. But I don’t want tostayin this world where I'm some prisoner, either.

I feel like I’m trapped between two lives, between two paths, and I can’t figure out which one to choose.

I can’t go back.

Can I?

Varek’s smile falters just slightly, like he can feel the shift in me. Maybe he’s already figured out what I’m thinking, what I’m feeling. But I can’t go back. Not to that life. Not when I’m beginning to understand the power in me, in this world.

I swallow hard, my mind racing. My heart is pounding in my chest. The decision feels too big, too monumental to make. But there’s only one answer now.

I can’t leave. Not yet.

“Take care of yourself, Sable,” Varek says, his voice softer now, like he’s trying to give me an out. But the words feel hollow.

I don’t answer him. I don’t need to. I just watch him walk away, every step feeling like it’s pulling me further from everything I thought I knew.

I can still feel Torin standing behind me, the tension humming in the air, and I finally turn to face him. His eyes are dark, his expression unreadable. He's in his human form.

“Why didn’t you try to escape, kitten?” he asks, his voice low and intense.

I don’t hesitate. The lie comes out before I even have time to think. “I don’t want you to kill him.”

Torin’s lips curl into a smirk, his eyes narrowing like he knows I’m lying. “That’s bullshit, and you know it.” He steps closer, his breath warm against my skin, and I feel his presence overwhelm me. “Why didn’t you leave, Sable?”

I take a step back, unsure of myself. “I don’t know,” I admit, my voice trembling just a little.

"Yes, you do."

How does this man know me so well already? “I don’t feel like I’m ready to leave yet. I want to understand what’s happening inside of me. This… thing. This power.” My fingers twitch at my sides as I try to steady myself. “I want to control it. Use it.”

Torin watches me, his gaze dark and intense. “And what else?”

I take a deep breath, forcing the words out. “Maybe I still want my chance to kill you all from the inside. Maybe that’s what I want.”

His grin widens, that dangerous gleam flickering in his eyes. Without warning, he grabs me, pulling me into him, his body hard and unyielding against mine.

“Fuck,” he mutters under his breath. “You’re gonna be the death of me.”

"That's sort of the plan," I smirk.

Then, without another word, he kisses me hard, the force of it stealing the breath from my lungs as everything else fades away.

Chapter

Twenty-Nine

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