Page 54 of Wolf Bonded (Rejected Moons 2)

“Does that matter?” I interject.

Both of them round on me as if I’ve insulted their mothers. “What do you mean, does itmatter?” Milo demands.

“You don’t think it matters who took Emlyn?” Nate growls.

“Don’t bark at me,” I tell them. Without letting on that I’m doing it, I focus on the power of the moon, somewhere high above me. It’s waning now, so there isn’t that much power to be had, but there’s probably enough to stave off a crazy wolf if he throws himself at me. “I know it matters who took her. I’m saying, do you need to know who it wasbeforeyou track them?”

Nate gnashes his teeth.

But Milo pauses. “I see what you mean,” he admits. He turns to Nate. “He’s right,” he says. “We could track the scent and figure out where it leads. And that would answer this question for us. We don’t need to argue about whether or not her original packmates took her—we can see for ourselves.”

“And then we fight,” Nate says.

Milo shakes his head. “And then welook,” he says. “We watch them. We see if they have her. If she’s not there—”

“If she’s not there, it might mean they’ve already killed her!” Nate cries. “They could be killing her rightnow!”

“Or they mightnotbe, and we might lose our best chance to rescue her because you got us killed or captured on some half-cocked rescue plan,” Milo says. “For once—foronce—could we stop and think before we rush into a fight? Would that absolutely kill you?”

“We should wait anyway,” I say.

They turn to look at me.

“This is the worst possible time for a fight,” I say. “Tonight is the new moon. I’m not going to be able to help you.” Already, I can feel the little power I have waning away.

“So you won’t help us,” Nate says. “We’re not going to wait for themoon.”

I look to Milo for help.

Milo shakes his head. “If we find out they have her, we’ll go in right away,” he says. “But I’m not attacking until I’m sure. It’s stupid to waste ourselves on a fight if we don’t know she’s there.”

“It’s stupid to go into a fight with two when you could go in with three!” I say fervently. “I don’t know what you’re thinking. I’m talking about waitingone day. If we find out they’re holding her, it means they’re holding her for a reason, right? It means they want something.”

“Something they might be taking,” Nate growls.

“You can’t hope to take on a whole pack of wolves by yourselves,” I say. “Don’t you remember what happened the last time you went up against that pack? You were very nearly killed until I came along and helped,andyou had Emlyn fighting with you at the time.”

“And that was only a few members of the pack,” Milo says.

“If you expect me to wait here while the moon moves into a more favorable position, you’re insane,” Nate says. He starts toward the door.

With an angry roar, Milo lunges after him, grabs him by the shoulder, and flings him back against the far wall.

“I’m not going to let you charge in like a bull in a china shop and put Emlyn at risk,” he says, his hands coming up in front of his face.

Nate’s upper lip peels back, exposing his teeth, and for a moment, I’m afraid he’s going to shift.

Instead, he hauls off and punches Milo right in the face.

32

NATE

Ican’tbelieveIdid that. I can’t believe I hit Milo.

I take three quick steps back, shaking out my fists. I breathe deeply to calm myself down, and I’m just about to apologize when—

Wham!The breath leaves my body in a rush. I double over and stagger back. It’s been a long time since someone caught me off guard with a punch.

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