Page 2 of Wolf Bonded (Rejected Moons 2)

Wilder lets out an animalistic cry—but it’s Nate who bolts forward, erupting into his animal form.

It kills me not to shield Nate, but I don’t know how to put a shield between him and our enemies without it operating in two directions. If I stop them from hurting him I’ll stop him from being able to touch them too, and I can’t do that. I just have to let this play out.

Nate is a good fighter. I see that he gets the upper hand on our rivals quickly. But then again, maybe they’re especiallybadfighters when it comes to hand-to-hand combat. Why would a Moon Caster—if that is what they are—ever need to fight close up?

It’s always been the biggest challenge in fighting Moon Casters. It’s something the pack always trained me to expect, when I was growing up learning about them. Moon Casters can start attacking you when you’re still yards away. When you get up close to them, you can take them down. But who knows if you ever will get up close?

But the element of surprise has gotten Nate there. I can hear his jaws snapping, and I can smell the blood in the air. And I know my man, my wolf, well enough to recognize when he is winning a fight.

And maybe Wilder is helping, maybe he knows something I don’t, because the fight is over quickly. Nate comes jogging back to us, his face red with blood, the wolf already left behind him.

Wilder looks away from him rather distastefully. “There’s a little pool over there if you want to clean that up,” he said. “Or do you just lick yourself clean?”

Nate rolls his eyes at the jab and goes off in the direction Wilder indicated.

I peel myself up off the ground, still shaking from the pace of everything that just happened. Beside me, Milo is also getting to his feet.

“Who the hell were they?” I demand.

Wilder is looking around. “We should get moving,” he said.

“You should explain to us what all that was about before we go,” I say.

“It was about me saving your lives for the second time,” Wilder said. “I can tell you don’t trust me, you know. But I think we can all help each other here.”

“He’s right,” Nate says.

I turn. Nate is standing behind me, water dripping from his face

He’s looking at Wilder completely differently now.

“He’sright?” Milo asks.

“He fought with us,” Nate says. “He’s right, and Emlyn is right. If he wanted us dead, he could have just let it happen. I’m ready to see where this goes.”

2

EMLYN

ThebuildingWilderleadsus to is a high rise. The window on the first floor has been smashed out, probably a long time ago—someone’s wrapped a piece of cloth over the lower frame and taped it down. Wilder places a hand there and vaults inside. “Come on,” he urges, and we follow.

The first thing I notice is that the stairwell is packed with sigils. Sigils like the ones I saw drawn in the office building Nate and I explored. Sigils like the strange cup on the faces of the robed people who keep attacking us.

That particular sigil is nowhere to be seen. Neither are the other two I noticed before. These ones are all new.

Also, none of them are drawn in blood.

I want to ask Wilder about what I’m seeing here, but I’m not sure if that’s the kind of thing it’s appropriate to ask your new Moon Caster friend. Milo grew up around a coven, and he never mentioned this many sigils being a part of his life. I wish he would bridge the gap and ask the question for me—he knows I’ve been wondering about this stuff—but he doesn’t say anything.

On the second floor, there’s what looks like some kind of common area. It might be a living room. There’s a bit of furniture scattered around, and it looks good for lounging. There’s even someone there, lying on their back on a sofa—I can’t tell if it’s a man or a woman.

Whoever it is, they have a book in their hands, and I almost stop dead to stare at them. I’m looking at someone who not only knows how to read, but has also preserved a book instead of using it for kindling the way most people did early in the Lunar Reversal. I’ve seen books plenty of times, of course—my mother had some, and if Nate is to be believed, there’s still a library full of them out there somewhere. But this wasn’t what I expected to see in a coven.

I don’t know what I did expect. Moon Casters holding hands and chanting, maybe.

Whoever is in that room seems…well, normal.

Then again, Wilder seems kind of normal too.

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