Page 10 of Luna Cursed

"It's nothing," Ciara snapped and walked out of the house.

Oh no, she wasn't walking away after that.

"Tor, don't—" Arne began.

Tor was done listening. He strode after Ciara, kicking the door outside open. Her scent went into the woods. Yeah, she wasn't getting away that easily. Tor followed her apple blossom and anger until he spotted her swaying dark hair.

"Go away!" she shouted.

"Stop, Ciara. I'm fucking warning you," Tor replied. She kept walking. That did it.

Tor moved so fast, he barely rustled a leaf and tackled her to the moss. Ciara's elbow went up, smashing him in the ribs. He absorbed the blow and pinned her wriggling and furious underneath him.

"I saidstop," he snarled. He grabbed her hands and held them tight.

Ciara's blue eyes were so full of fury, they turned electric. "Let me go."

"No. You need to listen to reason, or I'll make you," Tor said, his alpha power begging to unleash on her. "Don'tmake me, Ciara."

She went still underneath him, something finally clicking in her brain that made her realize how much shit she was in. "Get off me."

"No. You will lie still until I can get some sense into that stubborn head of yours." Tor didn't loosen his grip. He wasn't that stupid. "You need help to take down Varg. I'm coming with you, and that's it. You're only fighting the help because it's me, but it doesn't matter. We are bonded until the full moon, so it means I can't let you out of my sight. I physicallycan't."

Ciara's anger faded into confusion. "It's a part of the magic?"

"Yes. I'm not trying to be an asshole. I gave you a part of myself to heal, and until we can undo it, it will damage both of us to be apart. Do you remember what Layla was like when she tried to fight a bond? It will be that but worse."

"I thought you said it wasn't like a mating bond."

"It's not, but it's still a new bond. It needs time to settle, and it can't be removed until we know whether you are going to wolf out." Tor wasn't exactly sure that was true, but if she did turn into a wolf, she would need the extra strength he gave her for the transition. Ciara didn't need to know that. "Please, just stop fighting me about this. Let's work together for the next fortnight, kill Varg, and then it will be over."

Ciara looked like she still wanted to argue with him. Then she went soft underneath him with a sigh. "Okay."

"Okay?" Tor raised a brow. It felt like a trap.

"We can work together. Just don't use your bossy alpha shit on me. I like my free will, and if you try and use your power to take my choices away, Iwillkill you," she replied. She would do it too. There wasn't a flicker of hesitation or bluff in her. Tor hated that he liked that about her.

"Agreed. Now, will you try and hit me in the balls if I move? Otherwise, we are going to be here a while," he asked.

Ciara smiled up at him, and it was so sweet, he felt like he'd been hit in the head. "Would I do something like that?"

"Yes. You absolutely would." Tor tried not to think about how good she felt between his thighs. His dick wasn't listening. He needed to stop this and get off her. "Truce?"

"Truce. No ball hitting, I promise."

Tor slid off her and tugged her to her feet. "It's going to be a pleasure working with you, Ironwood."

"Hmm, we'll see about that," she said and flicked her long dark hair over her shoulder as she turned away from him. Tor's senses were hit by a wave of her silky scent, and he stood paralyzed as she walked back towards the house.

Tor changed his mind; the next two weeks would be pure hell.

6

Layla grabbed Ciara as soon as she walked back into the house. Tor came in a minute later, the knees of his jeans stained with the green moss he had pinned her to. For some insane reason, it made Ciara want to grin. Maybe she really did need to fight it out with him. She wasn't strong enough yet, but the small tussle had released some of the energy inside of her.

"You should know wolves better than to growl at one like that. What the fuck, Ciara?" Layla asked, sitting her down on a couch. Arne and Tor busied themselves in the kitchen before going outside to where Tor had a barbecue set up on the deck.

"It kind of slipped out. I don't know why I did it," Ciara admitted. She looked up at Layla's brown eyes and voiced her deepest fear. "What if I do turn into one because of this bite? Tor said their Völva tried to draw the poison out, but what if it didn't work?"

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