Page 74 of Wolf Bonded (Rejected Moons 2)

I wrap my arms around her, holding her as tightly to me as I can. I’m not sure if it’s my imagination, but I think her body is actually hotter than what I’m used to.

“I see,” Victor says. “They’re holding you against your will. Don’t worry, Emlyn. We’ll deal with them for you, and then you and I will be able to be together, the way we always should have been.”

“Don’t talk to her, you bastard,” Wilder grinds out through gritted teeth.

“Can’t you do something?” I ask him desperately. “Can’t you stop this?”

“I’ve been trying,” he says. “Whatever this is, it’s too strong for me to break.”

“You can’t block it?”

“I haven’t been able to so far. I’m still trying.”

“Help me hold her, at least.”

He nods and gets his arms around her, but it’s honestly not that much help because both of us trying to hold onto her at the same time is awkward and difficult.

“Do you want me to kill them for you?” Victor asks, his voice soft and sultry.

Emlyn nods frantically.

I know she’s out of her mind right now. I know she doesn’t know what she’s saying. Still, I can’t deny that that hurts.

Wilder makes a little sound like he’s been punched.

Emlyn goes limp in our arms.

“This is a trick,” I say through gritted teeth. “Hang onto her.”

Sure enough, a heartbeat later, Emlyn resumes her struggle, fighting even more determinedly than before. Even though I was prepared for it, my grip on her almost slips.

Victor laughs. “You don’t think you can keep this up, do you?” he asks, turning his gaze to me. “Eventually, she’s going to get away from you. And as soon as she does, she’s going to come to me. You’re fighting a losing battle. She was always going to choose me because we’re mates. Alpha mates. Whatever it is you think you have with her, it can’t compete with that bond.”

“You don’t even want her,” Wilder says. “Why are you doing this?”

“Of course I don’t fucking want her,” Victor says. “She’s garbage. Moon Caster bitch. But I can’t just let her walk away. I can’t let her go back out into the world, still mated to me the way she is. And we all know that there’s only one way to destroy an alpha mate bond.”

I don’t know anything about it, actually. But from the snarls that are suddenly coming from Nate’s direction, I can guess what the method of destroying that bond is.

This is why he’s been so determined to kill her, then.

“It’s going to happen,” Victor says. “One way or another. Either she’ll break free of you and come to me of her own accord, or I’ll set my pack on you. There aren’t enough of you to fight off all of us. You won’t be able to protect her.”

“Go to hell,” I growl.

“We don’t have anything against you,” Victor said. “Other than hating you for what you are. But this fight doesn’t have to be yours.” He grinned. “I’ll make you the same offer you gave to me; how does that sound? You can walk away now. All you have to do is let go of Emlyn, let her come to me, and I’ll let you other three go. None of my pack will harm you or try to stop you from leaving. You’ll never hear from us again.”

There’s no way I’m even going to entertain that.

Nate doesn’t budge.

Beside me, I feel Wilder sink into a low crouch. I don’t know what he’s preparing to do, but I’m sure it’s some kind of combat magic.

I hope that stuff we practiced with the rocks comes in handy now!

There are so many wolves around us that it’s hard to imagine having a chance in a fight. But I’m not going to run away and leave Emlyn to die. If we go down, we go down together.

“You’re not going to scare us off,” I say to Victor. “Enough talking. If we’re going to fight, let’s fight.”

---