Page 101 of Moon Cursed

I didn’t think anything could tear my eyes away from such a shocking, gruesome sight. Nothing but my Paxton.

He was a half-naked maestro conducting his symphony—his masterpiece. His hands waved, almost flowed through the air. Left hand spinning and right a steady, immovable force, seven great towering columns of water burst from the ceiling, sweeping the alpha council right up.

Flames burst off Councilman Hakim and vaporized in the water. Liliya lashed out with her own water powers, shooting it off like a water hose and catching me with a blast to the face, but doing nothing to save herself. That was the thing about drowning from the inside out. You couldn’t speak. You couldn’t think. You couldn’t organize. All that existed was the all-consuming panic and need to breathe.

“Daze, quick,” Paxton said. “Unchain the others. Get them and my mom out of here.”

I was already moving before he finished the sentence. I ran to Nia and got hold of the padlock securing her chains. Phasing my glowing hand through, I got inside and ripped up, broke apart, and smashed whatever I touched.

“My gods, he’s amazing,” Nia said, straining to shrug off the chains. “Not only did he fight off the command, but he’s destroying them! No wonder Luame chose him to be your mate.”

Something flickered out of the corner of my eye.

“He’s the most amazing omega in all of—”

The sword by my knee skittered away, then shot into the air.

“Paxton, look out!”

Slicing the air, the weapon buried into Paxton’s back.

“No!”

Paxton dropped like a popped balloon. The towering whirlpools vanished, dumping Liliya, Cygnus, Sunella, and the others the long twelve-feet drop to the floor. Jabari’s metal-lined body broke the hardwood—peeling the boards up and showering the room with splinters.

“Paxton?” I raced to him, catching him as he fell. “Are you okay? Talk to me.”

His head lolled back on my shoulder. It was only then I saw the other end of the blade sticking out of his chest.

His heart.

“Aaahhhh!” My scream rattled the rafters.

“You idiot,” Cygnus roared. He staggered to his feet, still hacking and coughing. “What were you thinking? He’s the only water wolf. We needed him!”

Jabari’s iron melted away, leaving nothing but seething hatred on his face. “What would you have had me do? He was killing us!”

“He was killingyou, you weak fool.” Cygnus threw a piece of plank at his face, ripping a seam across his forehead. “No omega can kill me!”

Their stupid damn fight filtered in the background, a droning buzz as I held Paxton—screaming for him. “Paxton, please, wake up. Please!”

“Don’t waste time,” Cygnus belted at the secret police moving at the edges of my blurred vision. “Cut the girl. Bring him back!”

“Paxton, baby, please, don’t leave me like this.” I patted his sallow cheeks, willing his eyes to flutter. “Look at me. Look— Ahh!”

Rough hands grabbed me, wrestling me away from him. Extending my arm, the officer sliced my wrist on the very sword sticking out of Paxton’s chest, then pulled it out.

Three more men piled on top of me, holding me down as he dripped my blood directly on Paxton’s wound. But they didn’t need to restrain me. I wasn’t fighting.

“Please work,” I begged, beseeching Luame, Ola, Zeus, Athena, and all the gods mundane, demigod, wolf, and otherwise. “Whatever this new power is, don’t you fucking dare help that human waste Cygnus and then let Paxton down.”

We waited as my cut slowly knit itself together.

And waited...

And waited...

And waited.

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