Page 8 of Luna Cursed

Tor pulled on a shirt and went to the fridge for beers. He wanted to stick his head in the freezer or throw himself into the lake.

"Everything okay in here?" Arne asked from behind him. "How's your guest?"

"Fine." Tor passed him a beer before opening his own and downing half of it. "She's delightful." Arne's lips twitched. The bastard.

"You knew who and what she was when you decided to save her. How's the bond?" Arne asked. Of course Alruna told him about that as well.

"Itchy," Tor replied. He dragged his hair back in frustration and tied it into a knot. "It's fine, Arne. You don't need to look at me like that. Wolves make bonds all the time, and it's totally fine. It's not a thing like it is with elves. Fuck, if she doesn't turn on the full moon, I'm sure Gudrun can undo it. There are ways. It'll be completely fi…"

"Fine?" Arne sipped his beer, golden eyes shining. "I'm sure there is a way to undo it if you want it."

"What are you two talking about in here?" Layla asked, coming into the kitchen. Arne immediately pulled her to him, so her back was against his chest and he held onto her. Layla didn't seem to care. She only took his beer and had a sip. Their happiness radiated off them, and Tor could feel the intensity of it. It was like standing in the middle of a summer day.

"How delightful and grateful your cousin is that I saved her life," Tor replied.

Layla giggled. "Doesn't sound like Ciara. You okay? She can be savage when she's in a mood."

"He's fine. He told me three times," Arne said, and Tor wanted to punch him.

"Ciara doesn't want to accept that I need to watch over her until the full moon. There's no way around it. I can't let her go off on her own. If a change starts to happen early, then she'll freak out and could hurt someone. I'm going to ensure it doesn't happen. Can you talk to her, Layla? Make her see reason?" Tor asked.

If she didn't, he would do it his way, which would involve throwing his alpha power at Ciara and making her submit. She wouldreallyhate him then, and not just…whatever they had between them now.

"I can say something, but I don't know if she'll listen to me." Layla chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully. "She will want to kill Varg for biting her, so frame your guardianship as backup to hunt him down instead of babysitting, and she might calm down. She got hurt badly. You saw her at her most vulnerable, Tor. She's going to hate that you saw her so weak."

"We all need to be taken care of sometimes, no matter how strong we are," Tor grumbled. "I don't think she's less of a hunter because I had to wash her back for her."

Layla choked on her beer. "She let you wash her back?"

"Well, she couldn't do it. She couldn't even lift her arm yesterday," Tor replied. Layla looked genuinely shocked. "What?"

"She doesn't let anyone help her, even when hurt. If she let you do that, she doesn't hate you half as much as she makes out."

Tor knew that but for an entirely different reason. Before Layla interrupted them arguing, Tor had caught something in Ciara's scent that wasn't anger. The only other time he had smelled that sweet arousal was in Svartalfheim when he had pinned her to the wall.

He had grabbed her to trick the guards, but when he had buried his face into Ciara's neck, his senses had been overwhelmed with the scent of apple blossoms and woman. It had been so delicious that his tongue had licked her skin just to see if it tasted as good. It tasted better. Her scent had altered in a split second, arousal mingling with the apple. He had thought he had imagined it until just now in his living room. He had been one step off licking her again when Layla had busted in on them.

Fuck. Being horny over a woman who would never touch him in a million years was a new low. The wolf in him loved the challenge. It wanted to hunt and harass and wear her down until she gave up the chase and submitted to him. Now, there was an idea…

"Tor?" Layla waved a hand in front of his face.

"Sorry, what did you say?" he asked.

"I said do you know where she was when she found Varg?"

Tor shook his head. "She's only just healed enough to be in a talkative mood. I knew I wouldn't get anything out of her, so I want you to."

The door to the bedroom opened, and Ciara came out in dark blue jeans and a purple top that slid off one shoulder. Varg's marks were pink against her light brown skin. Tor bit back the snarl in his throat. He hated that she would wear them forever.

Unless you mark her over the top of them,his wolf side prompted unhelpfully.

"Would you like a beer?" he asked, dragging his eyes away from the scars.

Ciara nodded and slid onto a stool at the breakfast bar. "Okay, Layla, you might as well start your lecture now."

"Why didn't you tell anyone where you were going?" Layla asked. "You know how dangerous Varg is, and to think you could take him and a whole cult out on your own is actually insane."

"Firstly, I didn't know Varg was there. I had been hunting a different wolf in Sweden, and it turned out that he was a part of the cult," Ciara explained. Tor passed her a beer, and she shot him a small smile. Well, wonders never cease. "Secondly, when Ididspot Varg, it was your mating party, and I didn't want to interrupt…all of that." She gestured at Arne, still holding Layla in the cradle of his body.

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