Page 126 of Moon Kissed

“All right, that’s enough.” I snapped my fingers. “Ava, love, would you please?”

She, Melisent, and the girls were already moving. They charged the stage, coming at him from all sides.

“Back off!” Badr spun left to right, looking more like a cornered animal than a man. “Don’t fucking touch me!”

Ava was first to grab him, tearing at his sleeve hauling him away.

Badr howled—claws sprouting and blue eyes burning gold. I knew in that second what he was going to do.

“Cover your eyes!”

Blinding sunlight ripped through the ballroom and the cracks of my fingers, stabbing my eyes with white-hot brilliance.

Shouts and screams went up across the room. I opened my mouth to tell everyone to remain calm and stay still, when a rough hand clamped down on it.

“Hphmf!”

“You and I are finishing this—tonight.”

Pain exploded in my head. I fell forward, tipping over a hard shoulder, and sinking into darkness as I was lifted off my feet.

SOMETHING STRUCK MYface, fluttering my eyes open.

Squinting, my watery eyes landed on something pink and wiggling. It came closer to me, as if sensing the blinding pain behind my eyes and wanting to comfort me.

My vision cleared and I came face to face with the writhing pile of worms.

“Ahh!” Shooting up, I flew back and screamed—clutching my aching head.

I felt awful. Between blowing up the bond and taking another blow to the head, everything from my chin up was soaked in agony. Dizziness made my world spin. The pounding in my skull echoed in my ears. Pitching forward, I vomited.

“Wha... What’s going on?”

“—had no choice.” A voice reached my sensitive ears. “Everyone’s gone mad. They’re under her spell. I had to stop her. I had to save Wolf Nation. This is the only way. The only way.”

Something struck me again. Blinking, I saw it was dirt.

Everything dirt. Everywhere dirt! Tipping my head back, back, back, I swept up the hard, earthen walls and locked eyes with Badr... and his shovel.

“My gods, Badr,” I breathed, horror leadening my voice. “What are you doing?”

“I’m stopping you!” His eyes were crazy. “You gave me no choice.”

“No choice?” I whipped around, taking in the eight-foot hole I was dropped in. High above me and Badr was nothing but a roof of trees and sky, and I meant nothing. I couldn’t hear the academy anymore. I couldn’t hear the bustle, whisper, and romp of hundreds of students partying in a ballroom.

Which meant they’d never hear me.

“Of course you have a choice! You can choose not to bury me alive!”

“I have to stop you,” he hissed, mostly to himself. “For Castor, for Wolf Nation, for everyone. You’re too dangerous. You won’t stop until you’ve taken us all down.”

There was no talking to him. Rising to my feet, I tried to shift and a sharp spike went through my brain, dropping me screaming on my ass.

“What’s going on? Why can’t... I shift?”

“Don’t you fucking dare!” Badr shouted at me, but I was barely listening.

I probed my wolf, begging her to come out. But nothing. There were consequences for making promises in Luame’s name. There were even more for denying the fated mate she chose for you.

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