Page 12 of Blood Moon
The wolves fed from my lifeblood, and like all the guys, they wouldn’t go further than that. Unless I wanted more, they fed and moved on. I wasn’t even annoyed by that. I just felt nothing. It felt like I was taking care of my guys in giving them their strength, but other than that? No emotion.
“The guys are taking off to Washington for a while,” Zane said in his usual bastard tone while we all sat around—like roommates—eating the feast Cole had made for dinner.
“Bad idea,” Cole said while my eyes lifted to see what had brought this up.
“No,” Zane argued, his eyes black with anger, “they need to run with the pack for a while.”
“We think a little separation might spark the bond in us after we’ve left Elle,” Nakia added.
“We expect the draw to our bonded mate will reignite after being away from her,” Bren added with a sorrowful expression.
“You’re all fucking bitches,” Zac barked. “How the hell is that helping any of this shit? Running away from your goddamn problems with your tails tucked between your legs is a stupid fucking idea.”
“Fuck you,” Zane shot back.
“Is that what this is about?” Logan smirked. “Still having memories of that night of passion when—”
“I will rip your goddamn throat out if you don’t shut the fuck up,” Zane snarled.
“Enough!” I finally spoke up. “Do you really think this is a good idea?” I eyed Cole, then back to Zane.
“The wolves are naturally mated to only one person,” Zane informed me. “Ours was a unique bond,” he looked at Logan, “obviously, fucking with vampires and sharing our combined mate with others is all fucked up and twisted in our thought processes. We’re fighting it more than accepting it.”
“Like I said, you’re a bunch of bitches,” Zac smirked, and that’s when all hell broke loose.
Zane was up, and Zac was matching his swift attack. Zane never shifted, but his biceps were bulging as he held a laughing Zac up against the wall with his hand.
“Knock it the hell off.” I marched over to where the next hostile move was about to happen. The entire room was in some supernatural,shifters versus vampiresstandoff, and I was right in the middle of it.
I knew the vampires could beat the living shit out of the shifters—they’d fed more lately. It was natural to them, not the shifters, so it led to the vamps powering up more, and the shifters barely gaining strength from it.
“I get it,” I said. “If they need to go back to what feels more natural, then that’s what needs to happen.” I eyed Cole, who was vamped out and ready to attack the first wolf that made a move against Logan, Braden, and Zac, who were all ready to kill each other.
“That’s exactly what they need,” Zane said, releasing Zac’s throat. “Let them just be goddamn shifters in their environment, and maybe shit will start opening up to them again.”
“And if their asses get hunted down by Enzo’s minions?” Zac said, unaffected by Zane’s attack on him. “Then what?”
“They’re not going to be detected,” Zane affirmed. “They’ll be off with the old pack. They need this.”
“Want or need?” Cole questioned. “This is a risky move for Nakia and Bren. They’ve been drinking Elle’s blood, that shit stays in your system.”
“Yeah, well, we can’t keep that shit down,” Nakia admitted.
“What?” I said in horror. “Oh my God, then why are you guys even trying?”
“You fuckers are feeding on her, then barfing that shit up?” Braden growled. “I could fucking rip all three of you apart right now just for touching her.”
“Stop it,” I said, trying to keep the tension in the room as low as I could. “We’re all fucking trying here. All of us.” I eyed each man with their damn dark expressions. “Let Nakia and Bren go.”
“And what about you, you dickless son of a bitch?” Logan questioned Zane. “Why aren’t you going to the woods tofind yourselflike these two?”
“Because if the bond does start working, Bren and Nakia will feel it through me.”
“How are you so sure about that?” Cole asked. “You can’t keep Elle’s blood down, you want nothing to do with her, and you think you’re still connected with those two?”
“Yes,” Zane countered. “We’re all feeling sick when the other feeds off her blood. We all feel the rejection our bodies are experiencing toward her together. I’m the alpha, I’ll make it work. They’ll come back when it starts working. Right now,” he pointed to the glistening ocean horizon where the sun was setting, “We’re out of our natural environment. If they feel the bond coming back by leaving, I’ll feel that too.”
“How precious, the alpha is a martyr.” Logan rolled his eyes. “I’m out of here. You guys get yourselves killed by getting sniffed out unprotected, not my fucking problem. You know that’s Enzo’s prowling grounds. The asshole wouldn’t think to head to Florida—which is why we’re here—but do whatever makes your dicks grow back.”
