Page 53 of Vicious Luna
A sick feeling of foreboding curls in my gut, my neck still burning from his choking grip. “How?” I ask hoarsely, even though I already know the answer. He no longer sees me as his son- or even as a person, for that matter. In his eyes, I’m reduced to nothing more than a savage beast, not worthy of breathing the same air. Any love he had for me evaporated the second I turned.
He pivots on a heel to face me again, his cold, dark eyes meeting mine. “You’ll take her place,” he deadpans.
My eyes widen in horror as I suck in a sharp gasp through my teeth. “Dad,” I whisper, my battered heart cracking down the middle.
His expression remains impassive. “You can deliver the package willingly, or I can put you down, cut you open, and shove the bomb inside your corpse, like I was planning on doing with her,” he mutters, eyeing me with disdain. “Your choice.”
26
My escape isn’t nearly as triumphant as I thought it’d be. I call my wolf forward as soon as I rush into the cover of the forest outside the hunters’ cabin, intent on using her speed to put as much distance between me and this place as possible, but my inner animal and I are decidedlynoton the same page. Though she knows we need to get away from here, she doesn’t want to leave our mate behind.
I can’t deny how strong the pull of the bond is. The further I get from where I left Cam, the harsher the tug in my chest becomes. Still, I force my wolf to push on, even when I can tell it’s breaking her. Even as the sound of a pained howl echoing from the way I came nearly breaksme.
Rationally, I know I can’t turn back. I have to keep pushing on if there’s any hope of making it home. Once I’m safely there, I’ll have plenty of time to agonize over tonight’s revelations and curse fate for tethering me to my mortal enemy. I’ll be able to sort all of this out and decide what I’m going to do. Until then, I need to put him out of my mind completely and focus on getting to the six-pack territory.
Just keep going.
Every sound in the forest has me on high alert,my heart thundering riotously in my chest as my paws pound against the earth like a chaotic drum beat. I’m running on pure adrenaline, my lungs burning under the exertion and my muscles straining. I might’ve escaped that cell, but I’m not in the clear yet. The hunters will be coming after me. My capture only proved how vulnerable I am without the strength of my pack, and I won’t let them catch me on my own again.
My wolf leads the way, her internal compass guiding us through thickly forested areas and along the outskirts of sparsely populated towns. I cross creeks and highways, picking my way through heavy brush and sprinting across open plains. I don’t think, I just keep moving.
I lose all sense of time as I push my body to its absolute limit. The moon sinks lower in the sky, and the inky blackness of night begins to give way to the pale glow of dawn. I try to pace myself, alternating between a slow jog and all-out sprints, but as adrenaline ebbs, exhaustion sets in.
Just a little further.
That’s what I’ve been telling myself every mile of this journey, despite having no grasp on how many are behind me or how many more I actually have to cover. The pads of my paws are shredded and bleeding. My muscles are stiff, cramping with dehydration. My body is dangerously close to giving out, too broken down to heal itself, and while I know I need to rest, I refuse to give up until I make it home.
My mind is starting to play tricks on me. The forested landscape I’ve found myself in is somehow both foreign and familiar, and I vaguely wonder if I’ve been going in circles. The sharp edge of a rock slices into one of my front paws and I stumble a step, a feeble whine slipping from my throat when I lose my footing and collapse to the ground. My teeth clack together painfully and my muscles scream under the effort to push myself back up to stand.
I barely make it another step before I stumble again, and this time, I don’t have the strength to get back up. My brain issaying to keep pushing, but my body won’t cooperate when I’m this physically depleted. I need to rest and heal, but I can’t.I can’t…
Suddenly, a voice tickles the back of my mind, so muffled that it sounds as if I’m underwater. Distantly, I register that it’s coming through my wolf’s mind-link, calling out to me by name- and for a second, I wonder whether I’m imagining it. I’m delirious enough at this point that it’s possible.
Then two wolves spring into view, and I nearly weep with the relief of recognition. They bound toward me, nosing at my limp body and whining in distress, but I’m so out of it that I can’t make out their continued attempts at communication through the mind-link. My wolf is barely hanging on by a thread. She must decide we’re safe now, because a heartbeat later, she cedes control completely. The air shimmers as my bones snap and rearrange, returning me to my human form while my inner animal tucks herself away in the back of my mind to recover.
I’m so fatigued that my body is beyond the point of pain. I’m numb. Black spots cloud my vision as the other wolves shift, then a pair of strong arms thread beneath my naked, shivering form and lift me from the ground.
“Hang in there, Aves,” my friend Lo coos, stroking my hair away from my face gently as her mate cradles me in his arms. “You’re going to be okay.”
The last thing I hear before I lose consciousness is the deep rumble of Javi’s voice as he curls me securely into his warm chest, murmuring, “You can rest now. We’ve got you.”
When I startto come to, it’s like grasping for a sliver of light in the darkness. My mind slowly stirs, my sensesawakening with the realization that I’m lying on a soft bed, enveloped in the familiar, comforting scent of home. I don’t open my eyes. Instead, I sink my fingers into the soft fabric of the duvet, clinging to the feeling of peace and safety. If this is just a dream, I want it to last a little longer.
I briefly consider that I’ve died and gone to heaven, but then I remember how I punched a one-way ticket to hell when I started sleeping with the enemy, securing my damnation each time I let him make me come. Nothing will absolve me of my sins, especially when I don’t regret committing them. I did what I had to in order to survive. Given half the chance, I’d do it all over again. I clearly don’t belong amongst the angels.
I finally work up the courage to blink the sleep from my eyes, a shaky breath of relief leaving my lips as I confirm that this isn’t all a dream. I’m in my bedroom at the Goldenleaf packhouse, surrounded by all the comforts of home. I actually made it. I’m safe.
I’m still groggy and exhausted, so it takes me a second to fully get my bearings as I shift my weight on the mattress and look around. That’s when I realize I’m not alone in here- there’s a chair pulled up beside my bed, my twin brother currently reclined back in it with his feet propped up on the mattress, passed out with his neck bent at an awkward angle. Even in sleep, his brow is furrowed, his lips drawn in a tight frown. That’s Maddox Kessler for you- perpetually brooding and angry at the world.
I suppose he has a reasonable excuse this time, though. My capture couldn’t have been good for his raging abandonment issues.
The sound of shuffling footsteps in the hall draws my attention across the room, and moments later, Sloane appears in the doorway, her moss-green eyes flying wide when they meet mine. She opens her mouth to speak, but clamps it shut again when I raise a finger to my lips and flicker a glance in Madd’s direction.
“He’s barely slept since you’ve been gone,” she whispers as she tiptoes toward me, rounding the other side of the bed. “He’s been going crazy.”
“I figured as much,” I mumble as I push up with a wince. I scooch across the mattress and swing my legs over, Sloane’s arms immediately wrapping around me in a tight hug.
“We were so worried,” she sniffles, the sound of her voice muffled against my hair.