Page 44 of Moon Destiny

“We were going to use the full moon for the rejection ceremony. Now we’ll use it to make our bond permanent in front of the pack.”

I pulled my hand from his. “This sounds a lot like a marriage, Hugh. That’s a serious step.” Like, the most serious step—and he wanted to do it in less than a month.

He glanced at my withdrawn hand, a frown forming between his brows. “Marriages are for humans. Pieces of paper that can be altered with more pieces of paper.”

The alarm bells blasted at full strength. “Are you saying the mate bond is irreversible? Like, once I do this ceremony or whatever, I can never leave you?”

“You would never want to.”

That wasn’t a no. My heart raced, and this time it wasn’t from lust or poetic words about fate. “Answer the question.”

He hesitated. Then his expression hardened.

“Oh my god! Were you going to tell me this, or did you plan on trapping me?” I narrowed my eyes. “Why isn’t this in your little book?”

“Don’t start with conspiracy theories, Brooke.”

“Why isn’t it in there?” I demanded.

“I don’t know. Maybe you should write a new one.”

“Maybe I will.”

Frustration crossed his face. “Fated mates don’t want to be separated. Our connection is a sacred gift. Scholars believe it’s designed to make a relationship between immortals stand the test of time.”

He said it like it was a settled concept I should just go along with. Like it was completely reasonable that I should enter into an eternal commitment with no escape clause. “If we have all the time in the world, why can’t we wait a little longer?”

He tensed. “How long?”

“Why do we have to set a deadline at all? Can’t we just…date or something?” God, even saying that made my stomach flutter with nerves—a sure sign I was not ready to jump straight into a permanent mating ceremony. “I know Seattle is a commute, but I could drive here on the weekends.”

“That’s not happening,” he said harshly. He drew a deep, almost shaky breath. “I should have been more up front with you about this, but I didn’t want to bombard you with it so soon after you turned.” His lips thinned, his face uncompromising. “The life you lived as a human is over. You’re never going back to Seattle, Brooke. I’m sorry.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

HUGH

A range of emotions played over Brooke’s face. First there was shock. Then fear. And, finally, anger.

Well, maybe more like fury.

“Seattle is my home,” she said in a low voice. “My whole life is there.”

My wolf stirred forcefully, alerted by the resistance in her tone. She still didn’t understand that going home wasn’t an option. Maybe I’d hoped it would sink in once she shifted. Clearly it hadn’t. So now I had to clean up my mess.

“That changed when you turned. You’ll remain in Bosford for the foreseeable future.”

She stiffened. “You said your territory extends up and down the coast, all the way to Canada. I assume that includes Seattle? Or is there some kind of exclusion zone I don’t know about?”

“No exclusion zone,” I said evenly. “But it takes years for a turned wolf to master their beast. Your control is tenuous. Untested.”

“I’ve never lost control.”

“No? You didn’t back Julia into a wall?”

She scowled. “Dylan told you.”

“He’s my beta. We discuss everything.” I tried to ignore how adorable she looked when she was angry. Her freckles bunched up and her cheeks flushed the same shade as her mouth. Some deeply rooted instinct warned me I should never, under any circumstances, tell her that.

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