Page 59 of The Blood Moon Oath

I nod, understanding.None of us do.I don’t say it out loud, but the words linger in my mind. She’s caught between two worlds—torn between what she wants and what she’s afraid of. I get it. I’m not sure I know what I want either, not when it comes to her.

“I have an idea,” I say, my voice quiet but firm. “But would you please allow me to cover you?”

Sable rolls her eyes, and I can almost hear the exasperatedsigh in her head. But after a long moment, she bends down and picks up the cloak she threw on the ground earlier, wrapping it around herself without saying a word. It’s not much, but it’s something.

We start walking toward the keep, and her sassy side comes out again. “You know, Alpha,” she says with a smirk, her tone dripping with sarcasm, “Torin let me ride on his back in his shifted form.”

I glance over at her, my lips curling into a smirk of my own. "That's not something we're going to be doing," I say, my voice laced with amusement, though there's a flicker of something else—something darker—beneath it. "You and I? No piggyback rides."

Her eyes flash with challenge, and she takes a step closer, her lips curling into that damn knowing grin. "Oh, I see. Jealous?" she teases, her voice a smooth, playful purr. "It wasn’t apiggybackride, Kael. Torin’s not so... uptight."

I raise an eyebrow, feeling the burn of her words, but I keep my cool. "I’m not uptight," I reply, the corners of my mouth lifting. "I just don’t think you’re ready for the kind of ride I’d give you."

She laughs, the sound low and teasing, the air between us thickening with something that almost feels like tension—but not quite. "Is that so?" she asks, her voice dropping, a playful challenge lacing her words. "I guess I’ll just have to take your word for it."

I let out a low chuckle, my steps slowing just slightly. "You would," I say, my voice suddenly darker. "But trust me, Sable... some things are better left to the imagination."

She tilts her head, her eyes glinting with mischief. "Or maybe I’ll make you prove it," she says, her tone shifting to something more daring. "You’ve been all talk since we met.Maybe it’s time you showed me exactly what you’re capable of."

I stop walking, my gaze locking with hers. "Careful, little huntress," I murmur, my voice thick with an edge of warning and amusement. "You’re poking at a fire you might not be able to handle."

She grins, clearly enjoying every second of this. "Guess we’ll see, won’t we?"

I shake my head, but the grin on my face betrays the fact that I’m enjoying this far more than I should. "Keep testing me, Sable, and you might just get a lesson you weren’t expecting."

Chapter

Thirty-One

SABLE

We walk side by side through the cold, the air sharp against my skin, but something between us has shifted. The tension, the uncertainty—I can feel it in the way Kael’s stride matches mine, as if we’ve found some sort of rhythm. We’re still raw, still testing each other, but there’s a quiet understanding between us now. For how long it will last, I don’t know. But for now, the bond between us feels a little less like a leash and more like a thread.

“So,” I begin, breaking the silence, trying to stir the conversation again, “what’s next? What do we do now?”

Kael glances at me, his features softening slightly, though there’s still that controlled edge to his voice. “I have duties as the leader of the keep. Court to hold. People to govern. You know, the usual.”

I raise an eyebrow, pushing past the boredom I feel creeping in. “Duties? That sounds dreadfully boring.”

He lets out a quiet chuckle, that low sound rumbling in his chest. “Well, we can’t all just hunt and kill warlocks all day, can we?” He glances at me, the corner of his mouth lifting in a wry smile. “Someone has to lead them. Protect the tribe.”

I don’t like the idea of Kael being the one who has to carry the burden of leading all these people. I can tell it weighs on him in some way, but it doesn’t stop my next words from spilling out. “So, you’re the big shot then. The one everyone turns to for answers.”

Kael meets my eyes with a flicker of something—amusement, maybe—but his expression remains serious. “Not just me. There’s a council, too. But yes, ultimately, the decisions come to me. I have to make sure everyone stays in line. Keep things running smoothly.”

“And is that what you want?” I ask before I can stop myself, the curiosity in my voice too strong to ignore. “To run everything?”

His gaze flickers away for a moment, his shoulders tensing, but he doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he speaks to my question in a different way. “What I want doesn’t matter,” he says after a beat, a hint of finality in his voice. “But I do what I must to protect the keep and the people. That’s the only thing that matters.”

I nod, letting the silence settle for a moment before speaking again. “So, what exactly does this ‘court’ entail?”

Kael glances at me again, his eyes dark with the weight of responsibility. “You want to watch? You’ve seen us hunt. Now, you’ll see how we run things.”

I blink, surprised. “Wait, you actually want me to watch?”

He doesn’t seem to hesitate. “You’re here to learn, aren’t you?”

I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face. “Well, ifyou’re offering... sure. I want to see what this ‘court’ is all about.”

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