Page 51 of The Wulver's Bond
The first thing Moss did inside the cave was find something to break. He found a basket and put his foot through it, breaking the weave with a satisfying crunch. He stamped on it again, deforming the shape and splitting the fibres, until it was no longer recognisable as a basket. Just a warped, ugly, broken thing.
That was how Arran saw him. Broken. In need of fixing. Too brittle to hold onto properly, in case he broke some more.
Moss curled into his bed, angry about the tears staining his cheeks.
Well, fuck however Arran saw him. Moss knew who he was. He didn’t need some arrogant wolfman to define him. And as for all the fucking trauma? None of that baggage had to define him, either. Or, if it did, then it would be onhisterms.
Driven by a flash of insight, Moss sprang from the bed and grabbed Logan’s rucksack. The radio was right where he’d left it. He turned it on and glowered at the speaker, half-expecting to hear Logan’s voice immediately. But there was only static and the blinking numbers on the screen.
He pressed the button and hissed into it. ‘Logan. I don’t care if you’re fucking there or not. Whether you can hear me or not. You don’t have any power over me now. You only ever had the power of a coward. You’re a fucking coward, Logan. If it weren’t for Elsie I could have killed you with a snap of my fuckingfingers. And Elsie’s not around any more, Logan. If you’re still on this island then you betterrun.’
Moss caught his breath, feeling the first signs of a panic attack stir in his chest. Fucking Logan. And Elsie. And Them. Each one still had some invisible control over his body, made it react this way just by thinking of them. Well, not fucking today.
He dropped the radio and placed his hands on his knees, breathing deeply and calmly through his nose. His heartrate dropped, and the reeling panic never came.
Moss sensed someone watching, and turned to find the soaking wet Wulver staring at him solemnly.
Arran inclined his head to the radio. ‘I heard you speaking.’
‘So, what?’
Arran shuffled closer and crouched to meet his eyes. ‘Any response?’
‘I don’t need one.’ Moss flicked the radio off and chucked it to one side. So now the Wulver knew he had the radio. Big deal. The wolfman could get as pissy about the little secret as he liked.
Of course, he should have known better by now. Arran all but ignored it.
‘Moss,’ he said softly. ‘I have not said so, but I wish you to know, in case it has crossed your mind, that I do not find you weak or powerless. I find you formidable.’
Moss blanched at the word. Not merely strong, or capable, or resilient.Formidable.
Arran nodded at the radio again. ‘I have no real power over you, either, Moss. In truth you are the one with power over me. And like Logan, I am a coward, because I am afraid of the things you could make me do.’
‘With a snap of my fingers?’ Moss sneered, but his heart wasn’t in it. His heartached.
He closed his eyes, his thoughts and emotions all jumbled. The way he felt about Arran was somessy.It was nothing like theclear-cut devotion he’d felt for Them. He wanted to hug Arran and strangle him in equal measure. To shout in his face while folding into his arms. To hurt him and be hurt by him.
‘Moss…’
‘If you’re about to say you’re sorry then I really will hurt you,’ Moss warned. ‘Why don’t you own what you said, instead?’
It was Arran’s turn to flinch. His tongue flicked out at his lips, claws flexing. ‘You… infuriate me, Moss. You goad me and I chose to goad you back. I questioned your desires because I do not wish to face my own. I am afraid of hurting you because Iwantto hurt you.’
‘Good start. But you’re so wrapped up in this “I don’t wanna hurt you” shit, wolfie. Guess what?’ Moss threw up his hands. ‘I’m fucking hurt. I’m as damaged as they come. If we both want the same thing then why are you still shying the fuck away?’
Moss realised he’d lost track of exactly what they were talking about. It felt like more than just a conversation about taking Arran’s knot, or of who owned who, or of being used or hurt. It was something deeper than that.
Arran growled intently. ‘I don’t think you understand. I would own you completely, Moss. It is a soul bond, not a mere mating ritual.’ He almost reached for Moss’s hand, but pulled back again. ‘If you took my knot inside you. If you let me mark you with my teeth. It is a primal act that cannot be undone. I would never let you leave me. No weapon or magic would ever separate us. We would be bound for all eternity. Do you see?’
Never let me leave?Moss frowned, measuring the weight of the Wulver’s phrasing. The wolfman always picked his words carefully.
He looked pointedly at Arran’s dick. ‘All that for a built-in butt plug?’
Arran blinked—then chuckled, breaking some of the tension. ‘All that.’
‘That’s wild, wolfie. And you want that?’
Arran shuddered, making his fur stand on end. ‘More than anything.’
