Page 64 of Luna Cursed

Ciara nodded. "I'll consider it if I turn, but I'm not going to make any promises. There are things I need to work out first."

"Like your mating with Tor?"

Ciara sighed. "I'm not mating with Tor yet. Gods, you are all so nosey."

Knud actually laughed. "You'll get used to it. Send Linnea to Gudrun tomorrow night. I'm sure you and Tor will want to be alone to deal with your first turning."

"I'll let Linnea know."

Knud held out a hand to her. "Until you make your decision, Ciara Wolf Slayer."

Ciara shook his hand, feeling strange, like she had gotten approval she didn't ask for. Lachie was cooking by the time she came back inside.

"What was that all about?" he asked as he chopped up vegetables to roast.

"They want me to be their enforcer," Ciara replied.

"Well, you are the most terrifying hunter walking the earth," Tor said, coming into the kitchen.

"Hey, I'm right here," Lachie complained.

Tor ignored him and wrapped his arms around Ciara. He was warm and sleepy and looked so adorable her heart ached. Tor sat down and tugged her into his lap.

"What did the grumpy old bastard want?" he asked. Ciara caught him up, and Tor was unable to hide his surprise. "Well, well, looks like you shook them right up. Thank you for asking about Linnea visiting Gudrun. She will feel better going back, knowing she has permission to be there. And we are definitely going to need to be alone tomorrow night."

"Is that so?" Ciara asked, putting her arms around his neck.

Tor nodded. "My sister is safe. Now, I need to deal with the other matters at hand."

"You are not going to drop the mating thing, are you?" Ciara sighed.

Tor nuzzled into her neck. "Never ever. I swear you're only holding out to torment me."

Ciara laughed. "Would I do that?"

32

The following evening, Ciara stood on the patio of Tor's cabin and watched the sun go down over the lake. The forest and the water were so beautiful they made her sigh with happiness. There would be a lot worse places to live.

"Are you feeling anything yet?" Tor asked, coming outside with fresh beers.

"Nothing other than full and happy," she replied honestly.

Tor had recovered entirely from the battle though she was still a bit sore. They had spent much of the day in a conference call with the princes and the Ironwoods, catching them up on everything that had happened. The elves were working to send the displaced women back to their families, and the wolves were dealing with the few remaining followers of Varg's. Ciara was happy to stay out of it and let Alruna and the rest take care of everything.

Linnea had gone off to Gudrun's that afternoon and would stay the night with her. Tor was worried about her, but Linnea wasn't the type to let him fuss too much.

"It's Gudrun for Odin's sake. Nothing is going to happen to me," Linnea had argued before hugging her brother and Ciara goodbye.

Tor sat down on the chair beside her and put an arm around her. Ciara curled into his side and tried to hold onto his calm strength.

"Am I meant to be feeling anything?" she asked him. "Are you?"

"I can sense the energy shifting around us. Like the build-up to a storm," Tor replied.

They waited in comfortable silence, watching as the moon rose over the lake. Ciara got up and walked across the grass to the water, letting the moonlight fall on her entirely.

Nothing happened. There was no fur, or bones, or urge to howl. A lump clogged her throat, and she sobbed.

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