Page 17 of Wolf Bonded (Rejected Moons 2)

“I don’t really want any enemies.”

“I mean it,” he says. “If anything happens to Emlyn, you’re going to wish you had never been born. I can be ruthless. And when someone wrongs me, I never,everforget it.”

“Okay,” I say. “Got it.”

“You understand that I’m telling you this as a courtesy, right?” he says. “I don’t want to hunt you down until I eventually kill you. I would rather we just not have to do that at all.”

“I’d prefer that too,” I say honestly. “I’ve got no interest in being hunted and killed.”

He looks at me, suspicion in his eyes.

“Look,” I say. “She might be a shifter, but she’s a Moon Caster too. And so are you. I’m not interested in hurting either one of you. Okay? I want to see if we can help each other. If not, you’ll be on your way, no harm, no foul. But believe me when I tell you that there are worse things out there than covens like mine. We ran into some of them on our way here.”

Milo is quiet for a moment.

“Do you know what they were?” he asks.

“Only kind of,” I say. “I don’t know enough about them. I don’t know enough to be able to stop them. But I know they’re the ones we should all be worrying about. Shifters and Moon Casters shouldn’t be focused on fighting each other. We should be focused on the enemy that’s trying to destroy us all.”

“You really think that,” he says.

I nod. “I really do.”

Something in his expression shifts. Is he seeing me differently?

“You wait here,” he says. “I’ll go get Emlyn and let her know you’re ready for her.”

10

TheHighSorcereristall—taller even than Wilder, who towers over Nate. In the company of the three of them, I feel positively tiny, and that’s before I even sit down.

“My name is Regine,” she says, gathering her vibrant red hair into a knot at the back of her head. “Who are you?”

So it’s going to be blunt. “I’m Emlyn,” I tell her. “This is Nate.”

“And the two of you are hybrids?”

“I am,” I say. “Nate’s pure wolf.”

She looks at him with some disdain. “You keep him around, why? As hired muscle?”

“That’s really between us,” I say. “I assume it’s not the reason you wanted to meet me.”

She gestures to Wilder, who is standing in the corner, leaning against the wall. “He wanted me to meet you,” she says. “I had no particular interest in doing so.”

“Thanks,” I say. “Charmed.”

“Get something straight, Emlyn,” Regine says. “I’m not here to impress you, or to try to win you over. You’re on our territory, and I don’t especially want you here. I’m meeting with you as a favor to Wilder because he’s one of the most talented spellcasters we’ve got and because he thinks you and your friends could be helpful against the Moon Drinkers.”

“What the fuck is a Moon Drinker?” Nate asks.

Regine glances at Wilder.

“They don’t know,” Wilder tells her. “I told you. They don’t know any more than any other wolves know.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask. “What don’t we know?”

Something is being communicated nonverbally between Regine and Wilder. I can’t tell what it is.

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