Page 15 of Moonlit Bonds

A rush of heat scorches me, as if I am a living torch. The fire doesn’t burn me but my ropes melt away.

I don’t have time for questions. From my view point, I see Gloria outside digging. Okay, not theatrics, then, I think with a hint of hysteria.

I push out of the chair as the cabin door creaks open on rusty hinges.

Shit, is she back already? Had I looked away too long? Is she ready to kill me?

My hands are shaking as I cup them in front of me, a ball of magic forming between my palms. I release it with a yell and send it flying toward the door.

“Whoa! Watch out.”

My heart leaps to attention. That’s Kieran’s voice! His form fills the open doorway before he rushes into the room with his arms outstretched. He grabs me, hauling me into a hug, and over his shoulder I glimpse an older man who looks enough like Kieran to be his father.

“Well, that is one way to make an entrance, my boy,” his father murmurs.

“Seraphina, are you okay?” Kieran studies me.

“We have to leave!” I’m breathless, grasping at him. “Gloria has lost her mind. She’s trying to kill me!”

Kieran’s arms tighten around me. Power wafts off of him, his anger palpable. “Dad, watch Seraphina while I deal with this. Stay here,” he finally says. “I’ll take care of it. You’re safe now, Sera.”

“Be careful,” I whisper.

He marches on in the direction where Gloria is surely still digging my grave. Fear strokes my insides with silken claws.

Does she love him with enough desperation to take him out of the picture if she can’t have him?

“What will happen when he confronts her?” I ask Kieran’s dad. “Will we be able to help him?”

He shakes his head no. “If they both shift into wolf form, then it is a matter of pack politics. Kieran must defend his position in the pack, even if it means the death of the other. He cannot back down.”

I wrap my arms around my torso, shivering.

Please live.

We’ve come this far. I can’t lose him now.

Kieran

Idon’t tell them to run, just in case they need to step in, to assist, as I don’t know just how crazy Gloria might be. That is the only thing I can say to excuse this situation—she’s made up some fantasy in her head about us, while I still see her as this little girl finding her place in the pack. She must see me as something else,and any other woman in my life as competition.

“Be careful,” Seraphina whispers after me.

Following the tracks around the side of the cabin, I find Gloria eagerly carving into the soft dirt. She tosses it over her shoulder creating a neat pile.

I clear my throat to announce my presence.

“Oh, you’re early,” she says once she recognizes me, her smile a bit lopsided. “I wasn’t prepared for you being here just yet.”

“I’m here to fix this before it gets too out of hand.” I make sure to keep her in front of me, my voice low and soothing like I’m talking to a child in need of comfort.

“Oh,her.” Gloria’s voice spikes with anger as she grips the handle of the shovel tighter.

“No, Gloria. This isn’t about her.”

“You’ve always had the potential to be a traitor, just like your dad. I thought you’d see though that I was the one who could help save the pack, and together we would have led the pack perfectly. Showcasing our strength to not allow any enemies to take our territory…but instead you choose her.” Her smile turns into a toothy leer.

I shake my head, my hands out in front of me like a shield. “We were never going to be together.”

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