Page 88 of Wolf Bonded (Rejected Moons 2)

“I’m not trying to freak you out,” I say. “I still think it’s pretty badass that you were able to kill him. You deserve credit for that.”

“You think so?”

“I don’t know if I could have done it,” I say honestly. “So if a lightning strike was what it took, that’s a good thing. Just don’t go around striking everything with lightning, okay? Emergencies only.”

Something in her face relaxes. “Okay,” she says with a grin. “I won’t do it again. I promise.”

“There you go.”

She’s quiet for a moment. “Itwaskind of badass, though, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, it was totally badass.” I can’t take that away from her. “I’ve never known anybody who could have done that. That asshole Victor had half a heartbeat to realize how badly he’d underestimated you, and then he was charred to a crisp.” I shake my head. “Never saw it coming.”

“I don’t think the rest of the pack will fuck with us now,” she says.

“They definitely won’t,” I agree. “They’d be stupid to.”

She lies back and stares up at the stars above us. “Wouldn’t it be something if the four of us could just stay here?” she asks. “If we didn’t need to worry about running or fighting anymore?”

“That’s what I’m hoping for,” I say. “A quiet life.”

“Is that what you had with your coven?”

“More or less,” I say. “But I’m happier with you than I ever was with them.”

“I’m glad you came with us,” she says. “I’m sorry about what happened to them, but I’m glad you’re a part of us now.”

I nod. “So am I,” I say.

I lie back beside her.

The moon is waxing overhead.

I take her hand. The connection between us is so powerful. I know she feels the moonlight exactly like I do—like warm water washing over her. Like an embrace.

I roll onto my side, and she rolls toward me at exactly the same time. My body craves her in ways I don’t know how to articulate. All I know is that I need her.

I trace her cheekbone, her jawline. Her breathing becomes ragged and uneven.

“I want to show you something,” I murmur.

“What?”

I’m not sure, actually. I’ve never done this before either.

But I believe in the power of moon magic to be harnessed and used for good. I always have.

“Let me love you,” I whisper, and I lean over her and kiss her deeply.

53

EMLYN

Itfeelsasifseveral sets of hands are on me, and with my eyes closed, I honestly can’t tell which are Wilder’s real hands and which are just the strange touch of the magic.

I never would have imagined this as a way moon magic could be used. I wonder if other Moon Casters do this, or if this is something Wilder has invented just for us. Just for me.

He spreads my legs and arms, leaving me starfished and vulnerable. I feel him gripping my limbs, holding them where they are.

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