Page 51 of Wolf Bonded (Rejected Moons 2)

Nate and I exchange glances. I can tell he’s feeling just as wary as I am.

Slowly, I move toward the department store. If there’s any evidence of what happened, it’ll be in there, and we need it.

Inside, the smells are stronger—both Emlyn’s scent and that of the wolves. I feel my hackles go up. There’s fear in the air. It’s uncomfortable, and it makes me want to fight.

But there’s nothing here to sink my teeth into.

Suddenly, I find myself wishing we had Wilder. He couldn’t have kept up with us, it’s true, but I bet he knows some kind of magic that could have helped us to make sense of what we’re seeing and smelling. As it is, I’m not sure what to think.

I sniff the air for traces of blood, terrified that I’m going to find some—but there’s nothing.

There might have been a struggle, but if there was, it ended quickly.

Nate, standing beside me, lifts slowly into his human form. I can see what an effort it is for him to suppress the wolf, and I understand. I don’t know if I could bear to exchange my powerful lupine body for soft, weak, human flesh right now. Everything about this situation screamsdanger.

“They took her,” Nate says.

I stare at him.

“I’ve been afraid this would happen,” he says. “Her pack. They found her, and they took her back.”

If he was afraid of this, why didn’t he say something? And how can he be so sure that’s what happened? There’s no direct evidence of it. How can he claim to know?

I don’t know what to say. But I can see how certain Nate is, and I can’t begin to imagine how I would argue with him.

And it’s an explanation. And I want there to be an explanation. Because if we know what happened, we can start to figure out what we need to do next.

He turns toward the door. “We need to get home,” he says. “We need to talk to Wilder. It’s going to take all three of us to get her back.”

And because I don’t have any better answers, I follow.

30

EMLYN

I’mawareofVictorbefore I see him.

Up until the moment I feel his presence, I’m hoping there’s been a mistake. That I’ve misunderstood somehow. Because he can’t be alive. I saw him die.

But when Harley, Edgar, and David march me out of town and into the woods, I know immediately that I was wrong to hope. Because that same familiar feeling comes crashing down over me. That feeling I thought I had managed to escape.

The alpha bond.

It’s like a fire has been lit deep within me. No, that’s not right, because now that I’m feeling it, I’m aware that the fire was never really gone. It had dwindled down to embers, because I believed Victor was out of my life. It was replaced by the much more active, more present attraction I felt for my three chosen mates.

But now the fire roars to life again.

I stumble, and Harley laughs. “She still wants him,” he says. “Look at her. Her face is all red.”

I hate that he knows this. I hate that he can see it on me so plainly. It’s such a violation. I want to break free of their hold, but I can’t.

“What do we do with her?” Edgar asks.

“Give her what she wants,” Harley says. “Take her to Victor.”

Fuck, just the sound of hisnameis turning me on. It feels sick and twisted, wanting him like this, but I can’t help it.

Harley leads the way, and the other two drag me through the woods until I’m standing before him.

---