Page 9 of Moon's Call

Outside, she circled the building’s perimeter, making notes about the glass paneling. The summer breeze ruffled her hair as she studied the way sunlight played across the surface, creating ever-changing patterns.

“The angular cuts catch the light perfectly,” she muttered, jotting down observations. “But we might need additional UV coating on the west-facing panels.”

Her pencil snapped mid-note. She stared at the broken tip, remembering how the strange man’s presence had made the air feel charged like the moment before a storm. What kind of person walked onto a construction site claiming to be a prince? And what the hell was a Luna?

“Get it together, Lorelei,” she whispered, pulling out a new pencil. “This is what happens when Helena convinces you to have a birthday party on a weeknight. It throws your whole balance off.”

The glass panels reflected her image as she worked – professional, composed, completely normal. No sign of whatever magical powers that guy had rambled about. Just an architect doing her job even if she couldn’t quite shake the memory of those intense blue eyes and the way they’d seemed to see right through her.

Lorelei was looking down at her notebook when rough hands grabbed her from behind. Her heart leaped into her throat as she twisted, expecting to see the self-proclaimed prince from earlier. Instead, unfamiliar dark eyes bore into hers, set in a pale face.

“Don’t scream,” he whispered.

The ground beneath them shuddered. Small at first, then growing until the vibrations rattled her teeth. The half-finished building groaned. Glass panels shattered overhead, raining crystalline destruction. Support beams twisted with metallic shrieks.

“Help!” Lorelei’s cry was lost in the chaos as workers fled the collapsing structure.

The stranger dragged her backward, his grip bruising on her arms. She kicked and thrashed, but he moved with inhuman strength. In seconds, he had her wrists bound with zip ties and was shoving her into a black sedan.

“Let me go!” She writhed against the restraints as he slid behind the wheel. “What do you want?”

“The name is Gideon.” He pulled onto the street, weaving through traffic with dangerous speed. His dark eyes flicked to her in the rearview mirror. “Been trailing that alpha of yours for days, waiting to see if you were really the one.”

Lorelei’s mind spun. Alpha? Like that crazy prince from earlier? “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you do, Luna.” He chuckled, the sound devoid of warmth. “Though I’ll admit, I’m surprised as hell you’re human. No wonder Draken took his sweet time claiming you. Probably hoped he was wrong about the mate bond.”

The words tumbled around her head like the debris from her construction site. Luna. Alpha. Mate bond. None of it made sense, yet something deep inside her resonated with each term.

“This is insane,” she muttered, testing the zip ties. “I design buildings. I’m not whatever you think I am.”

“Those tremors say differently.” Gideon’s smile showed too many teeth. “You’ve got power, little human. Power I’ve been waiting a very long time to harness.”

Lorelei shifted against the zip ties cutting into her wrists. The leather seat squeaked beneath her as she tried to find a more comfortable position. “Look, you’ve got this all wrong. Like I said, I’m just an architect. The most magical thing I do is turn building designs into actual buildings.”

“An architect,” Gideon scoffed. “Is that what you think you are?”

“I know what I am.” She glanced at her reflection in the rearview mirror, checking if maybe she’d grown horns or something equally ridiculous in the last hour. Nope. Same brown eyes, same practical brown waves, same woman who’d spent last night reorganizing her desk drawer by pen color. “And I can prove it. My wallet has about three hundred in cash. It’s yours if you let me go.”

“Money?” He swerved around a truck, the G-force pressing her into the door. “You think this is about money? You really don’t know what you are, do you?”

The disbelief in his voice made her stomach clench. This wasn’t some elaborate scam. He actually believed what he was saying. Earth manipulation powers. Luna. But these aren’t real things, at least that she knew of.

Through the window, Lorelei caught glimpses of dense forest replacing downtown’s familiar buildings. The road curved dangerously close to rocky cliffs that dropped into darkness. No one would ever find her body this far out.

“Those tremors at your construction site weren’t just random.” His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. “Your powers are awakening whether you believe it or not. And once I?—“

The impact came without warning. Metal screamed against metal as a black SUV slammed into their sedan’s rear quarter panel. Lorelei’s head whipped sideways, her shoulder hitting the door.

“What the—“ Gideon swerved, tires squealing.

The SUV rammed them again.

“Friends of yours?” Lorelei asked, trying to keep her voice steady as she worked at the zip ties. Her wrists were already raw, but if there was ever a time to channel her inner escape artist, this was it.

“Draken, damn him,” Gideon spat the name like a curse. He yanked the wheel hard, sending them fishtailing across both lanes.

The SUV matched their movements with terrifying precision. Whoever was driving had definitely done this before. The thought should have frightened her, but instead, Lorelei felt an inexplicable surge of satisfaction watching Gideon’s composure crack.

---