Page 152 of Moonlit Fate

“Hey, no funny business.” She laughed.

Biting on the tender bud, then releasing it. I gave her a cheeky grin. “I’m just making sure it’s squeaky clean.”

“Haven’t you had enough?”

“Of you? Never.” I answered honestly.

In the silencethat followed as we dressed, my mind filled with a swirling kaleidoscope of thoughts, unsure how to speak without shattering this fragile new foundation. Honesty, I decided. If we were going to go forward, there had to be absolute truth between us.

“What does this mean?” I asked as we settled back onto her bed. I pulled her close, relishing the warmth of her head resting against my chest. “For you and me?”

She heaved a sigh, her breath sending a wave of goosebumps across my bare chest. “I can’t think much beyond tomorrow right now, Atticus. But I can tell you this. I can’t imagine my life without you, and it’s not just because of some magical bond.”

The repercussions of the ritual and her rejection had shattered me. With Aria in my arms, the fragments of my life began to fall back into place, the tight knot of fear and rejection unraveling in the depths of my stomach. The insidious corners of my mind, however, were plagued with lingering worries. What if she woke tomorrow and had a change of heart, decided our metaphysical connection was screwing with our emotions and what we had wasn’t legitimate? What if the pack’s disapproval drove a wedge between us again? What if I gave her my heart and she threw it back in my face?

I concentrated on strengthening my mental shields, wary of the possibility that she might pick up on my doubts through our bond.

I pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I have to go back to the den.”

She twisted her head to look up at me. “Are you sure you can’t stay?”

I tried to inject some humor into my voice as I said, “If I stay, I wouldn’t be able to resist keeping you up all night. I don’t want to face Ilaric’s wrath because I’m the reason you’re sleep-deprived. He’ll set Mia on me.”

“You’re right, I wouldn’t want to be in her bad books.” Her lips curled into a mischievous smile.

“Damn right, she’d cut off my muffin supply.”

I didn’t leave immediately, choosing instead to sit with her, stroking her back until her eyelids grew heavy and her body sank into the softness of the mattress. Leaving her bed was torture.

Instead of using the shadows as a shortcut or shifting to run, I walked back to the den, trying to shake off the worries that clung to me. Each step made me sink deeper into a swamp of thoughts about Aria and the fate we were bound to. I was so tangled in my own head that I didn’t catch the change in the air at first. The forest seemed to freeze, the night critters silenced, even the rustling leaves appeared to have stilled.

My father, Caius, materialized from the trees, his presence as jarring as a nail scraping along a chalkboard. I hadn’t seen him since the battle in the Crimson Fang’s territory, the night Aria’s father had been killed. My heart hammered against my ribcage, a trapped bird desperate to escape.

Aria. She’d feel my panic and the sudden spike in adrenaline. I couldn’t have her rushing toward danger. Not whenhewas the danger. I boosted the strength of my mental shields, hoping to block the torrent of emotions from reaching her. Hopefully, she’d slept through that first surge of terror.

“Atticus,” he said, stepping forward.

I squared my shoulders, readying myself. “To what do I owe thehonor?”

He just smiled, slow and sly, like he savored the taste of my revulsion in the air. It made my skin crawl. He knew something I didn’t, and he was dying to let it spill from those twisted lips.

“Can’t a father visit his son?” His tone dripped with insincerity, mocking the very idea that we were related. “I wanted to give you the good news. I’m the new alpha of Crimson Fang.”

I clenched my fists, feeling the shadows ready to leap at my command. If he thought he could toy with me, he was sorely mistaken. I was ready to fight. This was no casual meeting. Whatever game he was playing, I wouldn’t let him win. Not this time.

I scoffed. He had no idea I already knew. “What? You want me to play happy family with you?”

Caius’s lips twisted in a vile grin. “Exactly, son. I’m extending an invitation for you to join my pack.”

It was actually hard not to laugh. “How thoughtful of you,” I sneered. “But there isn’t enough gold in the world to entice me to join your pack, Caius.”

His eyes narrowed at the use of his name, stripped bare of any title of kinship. “You dare?—”

“You forfeited the title of father when you murdered your wife and plotted to do the same to your son.” The words were like daggers, each syllable sharp and final.

“Insolent pup.”

The blow came before I could react. His fist slammed into my jaw, spittle flying from lips at the impact. I stumbled backwards but kept my balance.

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