Page 126 of Moonlit Nights & Northern Lights
“I could see that. What are you thinking? Necromancy?” he suggested, though I could tell he wasn’t convinced.
As if summoned by the word, Freddy scampered onto my lap. I scooped him up, looking for signs of damage to my undead friend. If he died again, there was no Issac to resurrect him this time.
“No… it didn’t feel like that. Nothing like the handful of deadwalkers Killigrew Street has come across either.”
“Okay… has he… had a psychotic break? Plus taken up martial arts and strength training?” Maxwell shuffled into a more upright sitting position, wincing as he moved. The bleeding from his wound had more or less stopped, though it still looked sore.
“Did you manage to read his thoughts at all?”
He shook his head. “I barely had the chance to try. It was all too chaotic. But should we keep moving? Follow Dev’s scent?”
“No. This is too weird. We need time to think.” I reached out, fingers ghosting over the tender spot on his scalp. “Plus, you’re hurt.”
Maxwell’s eyes fluttered closed at my touch, and our bond hummed between us, a silver current alive with shared sensation—his pain becoming mine.If only I could take it away from him.
A snap of a twig echoed through the darkness.
We both froze.
“Fuck, is that him?”
Terror shot through me like ice water flooding my veins, each drop crystallising into sharp fragments that pierced every nerve ending. The world narrowed to a pinprick of focus—Dev’s approaching figure—whilst everything else blurred into insignificance.
I’d barely survived our last encounter. Now we were both injured—Maxwell bleeding from his head wound, and I felt like I’d been trampled by a herd of particularly vindictive Highland cattle.
Should I shift again? My muscles screamed in protest at the mere thought. Another rapid transformation might tear something vital, leave me writhing on the ground whilst Dev finished what he’d started.
“Rory!” Dev’s voice rang out. “It’s really you!”
What the actual fuck?
Somehow, Maxwell hauled himself to his feet, though he swayed like a drunk sailor. He stepped in front of me, arms spread wide in a protective stance that made something warm unfurl within me.
“Stay back!” Maxwell roared, his voice carrying every bit of authority. “I don’t want to hurt you, but I will if I have to.”
But Dev kept approaching, completely ignoring the warning. His face lit up with what appeared to be genuine delight. “Why are you naked?” he asked, tilting his head with curious confusion. “Have you just shifted?”
What the bloody hell was happening?
I stared at Dev, my brain struggling to process what I was seeing. Did he genuinely not remember what had just happened?
The man before me looked nothing like the Dev I knew. Gone were the designer clothes that had always shown off his model physique—now he wore a plain grey hoodie that swamped his frame, paired with ordinary black slacks. Stubble covered his brown skin in unkempt patches, his dark hair hung limp and greasy, and purple shadows bruised the skin beneath his eyes.
Even his posture was different. Dev had always moved with the confidence of someone who knew he was gorgeous, carrying himself with unconscious grace that commanded attention. But this version seemed uncertain, shoulders hunched inward as if trying to make himself smaller. His left sleeve hung in tatters where my teeth had found their mark, dark stains blooming across the fabric. The man who’d once lectured me about “serious journalism” whilst checking his reflection in shop windows now stood before me looking lost, diminished, and distinctlyinjured.
“Rory?” Dev’s voice carried none of the menace from before. He cradled his left arm against his chest, and I caught a glimpse of angry red beneath the torn cotton. “Are you alright? You look terrified.”
Because you just tried to murder us!
But the confusion in his eyes seemed real, and the way his forehead crinkled with worry looked exactly like the Dev I’d fallen in love with. He stepped closer, one hand reaching out towards me. “I’m so glad to see—”
“Isaid,stay back!” Maxwell barked.
“It’s okay,” I told him, stepping out from behind his protective bulk. This Dev seemed… different.
Before I could process what was happening, Dev had moved, throwing his arms around me in an enthusiastic bear hug, squeezing me so tightly I couldn’t breathe.
“I can’t believe you’re here!” Dev sounded like he might burst into tears.
