Page 41 of Luna Cursed

The portal closed with a rush of heat and magic. They were back at Tor's cabin next to the lake. Ciara sagged, her knees going squishy.

"Breathe, Ciara, breathe," Lachie said urgently. He hugged her tightly to him, and she began to sob. She was so angry, it was choking her.

"I didn't want to kill her," Ciara said.

"I know. They all know. She forced it, and she paid the price."

Ciara looked about. "Where's Tor and Arne?"

"They'll sort out the wolves," Alruna said. "You need to get cleaned up because when Tor comes back, you're going to have to deal with the consequences of your actions."

"Consequences? I was pressured into a fight to the death."

Alruna let out a tired sigh. "Not those consequences. You claimed him in front of the whole clan, Ciara, and threatened to kill anyone who touched him. You killed your rival for him. All of thatmeansthings to the wolves."

"It should mean that they need to keep their fucking noses out of my business and stop picking fights when we have bigger enemies to fight," Ciara snapped.

"That as well. As soon as Tor arrives, the rest of us will be getting out of here for our own well-being. That includes you too, Lachlan," Layla replied. She looked shaken. They had seen a lot of battles together, but there was something so wasteful about the fight that had just happened. It didn't matter that Petra could've been working for Varg. It shouldn't have escalated to that point.

Ciara still didn't feel bad about it. She was furious that Petra thought she could bully Tor into loving her. Tor had been bullied enough in his life, and if he wouldn't stand up for himself, Ciara would.

Alruna opened the front door and pointed to the bathroom.

"Wash the blood off. We'll find you something clean," she said. Her eyes snagged on Ciara's arm. "I'll find something to patch that up too."

Ciara looked at the bloody, sweaty fright that she was in the mirror. She looked feral, a dangerous light in her eyes that she had never seen before. She didn't know if it was the wolf in her through the bond or her own violence.

"Fucking wolves," she growled. She stripped off her clothes and got into the shower. The gash on her arm needed stitches and was bleeding freely again.

She had an overwhelming urge to cry, but she held it in. She had screamed her personal history at a pack of wolves who were probably all planning to kill her. She pressed a hand to her aching chest and hoped Tor and Arne were okay. They had left them in the middle of a shit storm. She didn't dare touch the bond.

Ciara got out of the shower, and there was a tap at the door.

"I have some clean clothes for you," Layla said and passed them over. "Alruna opened a portal home so I could grab you some of mine. Pretty sure yours need to be cleansed with fire."

"Thanks," Ciara said, grateful she didn't have to put the filthy jeans back on.

In the kitchen, Alruna had set up a first aid kit and made a pot of tea.

"Drink some water first. With all the adrenaline and sweating, you're going to crash if you're not careful," she said, sounding like a mom.

Ciara sat down at the counter and placed her arm on the towel Alruna had set up. Ciara drank her water and tea in silence while Alruna fixed up the gash on her arm.

"Tor gave you some of his healing, so I'll only use some zip stitches," she said.

"Thank you," Ciara replied. The numbness was creeping in, and she was fast becoming incapable of being social. She never thought she would have an elvish queen patching her up either. "How pissed is Tor going to be at me?"

Alruna fixed another stitch in place. "You scared him today, in more ways than one. He won't be pissed, but he'll be grumpy about it."

"I scared him?"

"My gods, you really don't know why? He cares about you, Ciara, and you walked into aholmgangready to die, and he could do nothing about it. How do you think you would have felt in the same position?" Alruna asked. She finished the last stitch and started cleaning up all the bloody gauze.

Ciara said nothing. She couldn't because all she could think about was if their positionswerereversed, she would've probably killed Petra before Tor could've walked into the ring.

"Are wolves always so fucking ridiculous?" she asked instead.

Alruna laughed softly. "They are stubborn as hell and just as loyal. You shamed them all today, so well done. They are still going to be afraid of you, but take it as a compliment. They respect that."

---