Page 35 of Wolf Bonded (Rejected Moons 2)

We turn and jog back to where he’s standing.

He’s looking down at a set of four red brick stairs leading down to a green wooden door. It looks like it might have been pretty fancy once upon a time. It’s all dirty and dingy now, of course, but I see right away what’s gotten Nate’s attention about this—there’s a padlock on the door.

“This place doesn’t look like it’s been touched in years,” Nate says.

Milo points up at a metal sign hanging over the door, which readsGiuseppe’s. “Some kind of restaurant?” he suggests.

I look at Nate. “Can you pick that lock?”

He hefts it. “No,” he says. “Almost definitely not. That thing’s expensive. It’s serious. That’s why no one’s done it in all this time. The door’s right out here on the street for anyone to see, but no one can get through the lock.”

“And there are no windows on the street level,” Wilder points out.

“I guess we should move on, right?” I ask. “Find somewhere else?”

“I’m not giving up that easily,” Nate says. “The door is made ofwood. We can get through wood.”

“With what?” Wilder asks. “I don’t have an ax.”

“We could burn it,” Milo suggests.

I shake my head. “We don’t know what’s inside,” I point out. “What if the whole place is made of wood? We could destroy it. Besides, we want to have a door.”

Nate takes two steps back, then hurls his body hard against the door.

It doesn’t even shudder in the frame.

“Nate,” I say. “There’s no way.” He’s trying to make up for what happened with the Ravagers. He’s trying to prove his strength.

I wish he knew he didn’t have to. I don’t need him killing himself trying to barrel through this door, which is probably a foot thick, to judge by how well it stood up to his attack.

“Hang on,” Wilder says. “Maybe I can get it open.”

Nate looks at Wilder disbelievingly. “How?”

I hate to admit it, but I get what Nate means. He’s a big, burly guy, and Wilder—even though he’s taller—probably weighs a good 30 pounds less. He’s got the kind of muscles that are well suited to distance running, not punching through walls. He’s definitely not the one I’d have chosen for a job like this.

In answer, Wilder bends over the lock, takes it in his hand, and closes his eyes.

And I swear, I feel the power radiating from him, just as I did during the Ravager attack when we were working as one. It’s not as strong now, but I’m aware of it, as if the connection between us was never broken.

I hear a click.

Wilder steps back with the lock in his hand.

Milo whistles. “Damn,” he says. “That’ll come in handy.”

Wilder pushes open the door and steps into Giuseppe’s, and the rest of us follow.

20

Almostassoonaswe’ve gotten inside, Nate and Milo announce that they’re going hunting and take off again.

“They’re pissed,” I say to Emlyn.

She’s sitting on what used to be the restaurant bar, her legs parted rather enticingly, and I have to remind myself that the two of us hardly know each other and that I definitely shouldn’t be making advances.

“Probably,” she says. “They’ll get over it.”

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