Page 15 of Moon Cursed

“The seven of us—you, me, Castor, Badr, Paxton, Orion, Edric—we’ve been bonded for a lot longer than a year. We were always going to end up together. We were meant to fight this fight.”

“Nyx,” I cried. “What are you talking about? Why are you saying this?”

“The shadow, Daze. The one you spoke about. He’s no shadow at all. He’s very, very real, and I met him... the day he tried to kill me.”

Chapter Two

The glass slipped throughmy fingertips, splashing across his pantleg and giving him a bath for the second time. “Wha— What did you say?”

“I saw the shadow, Daciana, and if that man is after Hope”—his lengthening canines pierced his blush-stained bottom lip—“then I’m not fucking going anywhere. I’m staying by your side and putting that bastard in the ground.”

“Nyx!” I grabbed and yanked him down next to me, making him yelp. “Tell me everything right now. How do you know him? What does he look like? Where is he!”

“Daze.” Something about his voice, and his calloused hands taking mine, quieted me. “I need you to stop for a minute and listen. I’m going to tell you this and you’re going to believe me. Above all, you have to believe me.”

His eyes...Nyx’s eyes were more serious than I’d ever seen them. There was no laughing glint in his light pools. No trickster’s grin on his lips. No trace of the vain clown who shook his ass in my face. This was real, and important.

“Okay,” I said softly. “I’ll listen... and I’ll believe you.”

Nodding slow, he took a deep breath. “You probably didn’t know this, but I had another brother. A twin brother named Ravi.”

My brows popped. A million questions already sprung to my lips, but I silenced them. Something told me I was about to learn plenty about Ravi, and it would break my heart.

“Ravi was strong, so very strong from the day he was born,” Nyx began, still holding tight to my hand. “Not just a strong alpha, but a strong wood wolf. He ripped a thousand-year-old redwood out by the roots when he was only four years old. To say my father was proud would be an understatement.

“Father showered him in love, attention, toys, everything, and I ad-admit I was jealous,” he rasped, voice cracking. “As much as I loved my brother, I hated him too. I used to sabotage and play pranks on him. Anything to dirty the golden boy up, but I never hurt him!”

I started at the cry.

“I swear I never hurt him physically, and I never wanted to. But that day...”

“Yes?” I gently probed when he trailed off. “I’m listening, Nyx, it’s okay.”

He bit his lip hard, nostrils flaring. “That d-day, we went into the woods to play. It was just after our tenth birthday and we’d both gotten toy helicopters. We couldn’t wait to race each other. It was agoodday, Daze. There was nothing to be angry, jealous, or mad about that day. I just wanted to hang with my brother.”

“What happened?”

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