Page 30 of Wolf Bonded (Rejected Moons 2)

So even though I hate to run from a fight, I turn and sprint up the stairs.

I can hear the Ravagers spitting and snarling behind me. I think maybe I can hear them chewing.

I think about the man I tried to save. The one Icouldn’tsave.

Fuck, I hope he’s dead by now. I hope he’s not still conscious for what they’re doing.

I want to look back and see if the one who saved me got out. If he’s following me. But I know I can’t slow down. Because there are definitely footsteps on the stairs. More than one pair.

Ravagers are coming.

And if they catch up to me, they’ll kill me, and there’ll be no one here to save me this time. And then they’ll move on and kill everyone else in this building.

I have to get to Em and Milo. I have to get us out of here.

It’s the only thing that matters now.

17

WILDER

“Stayontheroof,”I tell Emlyn. “You’ll be safe up here.”

“Like hell.” She’s already following me through the door, and I wonder if she’s always been this difficult. “I’m not going to sit up there and wait to see whether or not you all get killed.”

“These areRavagers, Emlyn,” I say. “Have you fought Ravagers before?”

“No.”

“Well, I have. And they’re fucking brutal. We’re not all going to survive this.”

“My mates are here,” she says fiercely. “I’m not going to just sit up on the roof andhopethey survive a Ravager attack. You wouldn’t do it either.”

I sigh. She’s right. I wouldn’t.

And I don’t have time to argue about this.

“Fine,” I say. “Fight, if that’s what you want to do.”

I run off ahead of her. I don’t have time to wait for her. I told her to stay on the roof. If she insists on being a part of this, that’s her business, but I can’t spend my time and energy protecting her. I have a whole coven to look out for here. Not to mention myself.

I’m the most powerful Moon Caster we’ve got, so I’m the only one capable of magic strong enough to drive the Moon Casters away.

I’m taken by surprise when a large wolf suddenly bounds past me. For a moment, my only reaction is to chase after it. Wolves are the enemy!

But—no. They’re not, are they? That’s Emlyn. Emlyn is on my side.

Of course she would fight in wolf form. From what she’s told me, she hardly knows anything at all about magic. I don’t know why I didn’t see that coming.

I don’t know if she’ll be able to handle herself in this fight or not—but it doesn’t matter right now. There’s nothing I can do for her except to hope that she survives.

I can hear the Ravagers coming up the stairs.

I need to get as close to them as I can. I want my magic to be as raw as possible when it reaches them. I want to hit them with as much force as I possibly can, to drive them out of this building.

On the fourth-floor landing, I run into Regine. Her lips are pressed together in a fine line. “They’re coming,” she says.

She’s right. I can hear them.

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