Page 10 of Smoke and Moon

The young woman swallowed and gripped the fabric in her lap to hold her pant leg together.

Dov waited, big and gruff, but the bear-shifter was patient.

As she nodded slowly, Morlie widened her trembling knees and lifted the fabric away.

The big man’s mammoth shoulders blocked Aodh’s view from seeing the mark at the apex of Morlie’s thigh, but he was familiar with the etched symbol and the placement.The humans could have placed the symbol anywhere, but perhaps for some sick reason of their own, they chose that spot.Usually, the offering was so ill and out of their mind that they were unaware of being stripped down and splayed before the council members for this part.Aodh was sorry he had not brought Morlie here; instead, he allowed his feelings toward Kai to cloud his judgment.Now, Morlie had to submit to such humiliation.

Respectfully as possible, given the situation, Dov leaned in a fraction as he tipped his head down slightly and gave one loud, long sniff before rising.

The skin of Morlie’s cheeks became infused with red undertones.

“She is not one of us.”Dov walked back to his seat.

Then there was one.

Aodh looked over at Chanin, who still had not commented since Morlie was brought before them but kept a firm gaze on her.He stood before the table with his hands gripping the edge as he leaned back.The tight hold and the show of his claws as the wolf-shifter clutched the stone made it appear he had been trying to restrain himself.

Chanin pushed away from the table and strutted toward the woman in the center of the room.

If Morlie’s body trembled before, her form was quaking now as she glanced up, up, up at Chanin’s face.

The man stared at her, not seeming to be in any hurry.

“Let’s get on with this,” Armaros whined.“She’s either yours, or maybe the dragon’s picker is off, and she’s been one of his the whole time.”

Marceline joined Armaros in laughing.

Aodh didn’t need to respond, and Chanin continued his appraisal.

The other man’s face was stoic as he brought himself down to a single knee before her.He reached out and took hold of Morlie’s hand, which, once again, clutched at the material of her shredded clothing.

With a gentle tug, Chanin brought it up to his nose and sniffed along her wrist.

Morlie gasped at the light touch as she watched the Alpha wolf.

Chanin released her hand, then pressed her knees out wide and wider still.

Gripping the sides of the chair, Morlie whimpered.

It would have been obscene due to the height of the tear in her pants if Chanin’s frame and his closeness didn’t block the view of the others gathered.Keeping his hands on the inside of her knees, Chanin held them open while holding her gaze for a moment longer before he bowed his head and buried his nose deep in her center.

Seconds later, Morlie yelped and grabbed a fist full of the Lupine’s hair as she yanked his head back.

Chanin gave her a wolfish grin as he whispered something to her.

Aodh was straining to hear it as he started forward, only to be distracted by a noise coming from outside the hypaethral.

Like an avenging angel, Kai swung the sword up from where its tip was dragging on the ground, slicing through everything in its path.With a fierce look on her face, she clutched the weapon tight in trembling hands and charged across the dry riverbed toward the council.“Get the hell away from my sister!”

Aodh’s dragon unfurled.

~YH~

“Don’t you touch her!”Kai rushed forward toward the center of the two half-circle tables.All she could focus on was her sister trapped in a chair by some strange man.She wasn’t sure if he was the one who abducted Morlie, but if he didn’t get his hands off her sister, he’d be the one to die.

The man’s head snapped in her direction, and his eyes, a strange color, locked on her right before he growled.

Growled?The sound was so fierce it caused her feet to stumble.She recovered quickly and gripped the sword harder to keep from dropping it before she advanced deeper amid this strange band of alphas.She tried not to think about how her shoulders and biceps were in flames.There was sweat running down her back and pooling in her palms.She was afraid that, sooner or later, she would drop the sword, but not before she rescued her sister.

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