Page 9 of Wolf Hunted (Rejected Moons 1)

I feel his words like a hook behind my navel, pulling me forward, forcing me to obey.

Chapter 6

EMLYN

“Emlyn,”Brucesaysagain,his voice perfectly calm and confident. “Come on out, now.”

He’s so sure he’s going to be obeyed. Of course he’s sure. The alpha’s orders arealwaysfollowed.

I’ll obey him now, even though I’m going to my death.

Throughout the store, the sounds of things being trashed have let up, and I can tell that whoever else is here has stopped ransacking the place looking for me. They’re probably standing there with big smirks on their faces, perfectly aware that they don’t have to find me now because I’m just going to hand myself over.

And suddenly, I’m furious.

What right do they have to take away my free will like this?

I’ve always accepted following my alpha’s rule as a part of pack life. Bruce is a good alpha. Every order he has ever given has been to make the pack stronger.

But that’s not what’s happening here. I’ve been one of them all my life, and they’re just going to kill me because VictorsaysI’m a Moon Caster. There’s not even any evidence!

No.

I’m not going to obey this order. I’m not going out to them, only to be killed for it.

And I don’t know how, but the moment I make the decision, I feel a new sense of resolve. I feel the strength, suddenly, to resist what Bruce is asking. I don’t have to go just because he told me to.

That same rushing feeling courses through me, but somehow this time my heart feels stronger, not erratic.

And somehow, I’m resisting Bruce’s orders.

I don’t know how. I shouldn’t be able to do this. It feels like I’m plugged into something bigger than myself, like I’m being carried on a wave of energy that I don’t quite understand.

“She’s not here,” Bruce says.

“I’m telling you, I caught her scent on the way in,” Victor says furiously. “Shedidcome this way.”

“Okay,” Bruce says. “So maybe she did. But she isn’t here now. If she was, she would have shown herself when I gave the order. She would have had to.”

“She’s a Moon Caster,” Victor bites out. “We don’t know what she has to do. We don’t have any idea what she’s capable of.”

“Listen, Victor,” Bruce says. “I don’t know what else she is. But I knew her mother. Elizabeth was a wolf, as close to me as my own sister. I was there when she gave birth to Emlyn. We’ve seen Emlyn shift countless times. We’ve watched her follow orders—even orders she didn’t like—on many occasions. We know that the same rules apply to her as to the rest of the pack. If she doesn’t answer a summons, it’s because she didn’t hear it. She’s not in this building. Do you doubt me?”

“No,” Victor grumbles.

“Let’s move on, then,” Bruce says.

I hug my knees to my chest and listen as they make their way to the front of the store, crunching over broken glass and eventually fading from my hearing altogether. Even then, I wait another fifteen minutes before crawling out of my hiding place.

I can’t believe that worked.Fuck, maybe I am a Moon Caster.

I take stock of my surroundings.

The building I’m in probably used to be a department store. It’s hard to be positive because it’s been raided many times over the past couple of decades, and most of what would make a department store recognizable is gone. My mother used to tell me stories about entire afternoons spent browsing places like this, picking out things she didn’t really need.

“My turn for some shopping, Mom,” I murmur aloud.

I find a section of the store that probably used to be devoted to women’s clothing. What remains of the clothing now is scattered on the floor in piles, the tables and racks that once held it all mostly overturned. I kneel in the center of the section and begin sifting through piles, looking for garments.

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