Page 104 of Dark Moon Secrets

“So why go through a cleansing?”

“Hush. It’s time you rested.” She put her hand on my forehead. I felt her slip away as I rushed toward unconsciousness.

Then I saw my wolf’s eyes. I remembered. The way my wolf had looked at me reminded me of the connection we had. It was as if he wanted me to know something of importance. The connection between us was as strong as before. No witch was going to keep us away from each other.

CHAPTER 31

Alaric

No way could I go back to the pack. Not when I was injured. There would be too many questions, but there would be too many questions if I weren’t with them right now.

I went with the less of the two evils.

Safe, hidden in the bushes well away from the shop and the witches, I licked the wound on my shoulder.

Hurry up and heal.

It wasn’t bad. I had worse. But it was a giveaway I hadn’t been with the pack. I was in enough trouble already. I didn’t need to compound it. Yet, that was what I had done.

Why had I gone to see Tanjie?

After the members of the Wild Fire pack had come, there had been a fight the witches had put out. The unrest in the pack was suffocating.

Rafe was going to kill the alpha of the Wild Fire pack and the witches right then and there. I had talked him down with the help of the other leaders in the pack.

Then I felt it.

Tanjie needed me.

With the discussion heated and animated, I slipped away. I had to go to her. I had to be sure she was all right.

One thing was sure, since sleeping with her, the need to see her was stronger. A bond had formed between us, forbidden as it was, and I didn’t think it was ever going to be easy to break.

My tongue grazed once more over the lesion. The metallic taste set me on edge. More fighting was to come, and I had to be ready.

Luckily, I had listened to my instinct—my wolf’s urge to go to her. What the hell was that bastard from the Wild Fire pack doing there?

It riled me to my limit, and I wanted to rip his throat out.

Mind, she hadn’t needed my help in the end. It cut me deeper than my wound to know I had failed her.

Rafe was right. I’d been ignoring my duties in the pack. I hadn’t been going to the full training sessions. Would it be too late for me to start now?

With so much happening all at once, a dread in my belly twisted, and I couldn’t help thinking I’d left it all too late.

The skin healed, knitting back together as I coaxed it with my tongue. It would leave a small scar I needed to remind me of my weakness in the fight.

I would be ready the next time I saw a Wild Fire pack member.

My wolf was as impatient as I was to get back to the pack. It was too dangerous for me to stay out here alone.

The wound nearly healed, I ran to where I’d left my clothes, changed back into human form, and dressed back into my ripped jeans and shirt. I couldn’t waste any more time. The cut would finish healing by the time I got back to the clubhouse.

The clubhouse was a small granny-flat setup at the back of Rafe’s place for when we weren’t meeting at the pub. Fortunately, we had enough pack members with rather helpful jobs, which helped to keep our cover.

I headed home, getting into my car and driving way too fast. A speeding ticket would be worth it.

Parked down the road so as not to announce I so openly had arrived, I hurried to the shed at the back of the house I’d grown up in. Was this all something I could lose now?

---