Page 62 of Wolf Hunted (Rejected Moons 1)

“Someone must not have been,” Milo says.

I don’t answer. There’s really only one possible explanation for who thatsomeonecould have been—my father.

But I’m not ready to confront that particular mystery.

“So they did the spell thing on you, to make you a Moon Caster?” Nate prompts. He’s come closer to the two of us and is watching Milo with interest.

Milo nods. “And that means the power is a part of me,” he says. “Just like the wolf is a part of me. Just like the wolf is a part of each of you. I couldn’t get rid of my magic without getting rid of a part of myself in the process. That’s why I can embrace moon magic, even though I hate the covens and everything they stand for. Even though I would kill them if I got the chance. It’s the covens I hate. It’s not the magic.”

I ponder that.

The magic is a part of me.

It doesn’t have to change the way I think of Moon Casters—the way I’ve thought of them all my life. It doesn’t mean that I have to give up everything that my upbringing as a wolf made me. I was raised to fight the people who destroyed our world, and just because I share a trait in common with them now, that doesn’t mean Ibelongto them any more than my wolf means I belong to my pack.

These aremyqualities, and they don’t bind me to any particular group of people.

“Sure,” Nate says. “It’s like how we’re all human, but we’re not Ravagers.”

Milo barks out a laugh and holds out a fist for Nate to bump. “Damn right,” he says. “Never thought about it that way.”

Something about the sight of the two of them getting closer, becoming friends, warms something deep inside of me. I have a feeling, though I can’t say where it comes from, that the three of us are going to stick together for a long time. We have a bond now, and that won’t be easily broken.

Chapter 40

EMLYN

Thefireisburninglow. Nate is asleep—he has been for a while, snoring softly.

“It was nice of him to let me borrow some clothes,” Milo says.

“They’re too big on you, though.” My fingers are at the hem of his shorts. We’ve been moving closer and closer to each other for a while now, flirting with possibilities, and I don’t know what might happen, but I’m interested in finding out. “We’ll have to go find you something that’s a better fit tomorrow.”

He nods. “I’m not in any hurry. These are fine for now.”

I slide my whole hand into his pants, resting my palm against his hip. “They’re really way too big.”

He looks at me. His green eyes look electric in the moonlight, and his hair is casting shadows on his angular face. “Are you his, Emlyn?”

“Nate’s?”

He nods.

“No,” I say.

“You’re not mates?”

“We fuck around sometimes. We don’t belong to each other.”

“Because I want to stay with the two of you.” His breathing is a little ragged, and I’m enjoying that. I move my hand toward his inner thigh, and he leans back, accommodating me. Inviting my touch. “I don’t want to cause some kind of disagreement that we can’t get past. I don’t want to have to leave.”

“No, it won’t be like that,” I assure him. “Nate won’t care what we do.”

He nods, reaches up, and wraps a hand around the back of my neck, pulling me down to kiss him.

The feeling of his lips on mine absolutely takes my breath away. Every time I’ve been with Nate, it’s felt raw and primal and almost mindless, but Milo kisses me like he’s been thinking about it, like he’s been planning his moves and knows exactly what he’s going to do and when he’s going to do it. Even though he’s lying down, with me on top of him, he is absolutely in control here.

For a moment, I actually wonder if what I’m experiencing is some kind of magic. Maybe that’s why it feels so different with Milo.

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