Their forced luna

Chapter 3

"Bo," Zale greeted, still holding me across his shoulder. "I've brought my mate."

Bo nodded, eyes inspecting me. "She looks a bit small. Do you think she'll be able to handle us both at

once? You know what happened to the last one." He licked his lips. "But, it's been too long, I don't

really give a damn anyway. It's been cold this season, a warm body will do wonders for the spirit.

The last one? What did he mean by that? I wanted to ask, but was too terrified to. A darkness had

came over Zale, and I wanted no part in it. It reminded me too much of the monster I'd left behind.

"She'll handle it," Zale agreed with a smirk. "But before we get to that, I'm starving. What have you fixed

for me?"

Bo snorted, striding over and reaching for

me. "For you? Stew, for our new Luna, a meal fit for a queen."

Zale didn't try to stop him from lifting me away and cradling me in his arms. I was carried into the castle

and stared at the blazing fireplace. Bo sat me down in front of it. "Thank you," I mumbled, eyes fixated

on the dancing flames. The warmth took the sting of the chill away and I huddled closer.

"Zale, you can't have her walking around in that. I'll go gather my things. Keep her company till I get

back."

Zale huffed. "Don't forget whose mate she is, Bo. You can touch all you want, but you'll never have her

mark."

A slow grin slid across Bo's lips. "I won't need that when I get to taste all the other parts of her. Axel

won't be home for awhile, he's hunting and dealing with patrols. There's been a lot of activity at the

northern border." Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

Zale's eyes were almost obsidian at the news. "I'll look into it once she's settled. Once I retrieve all my

powers, it won't matter. We'll prepare for war if we must."

The northern border? We'd come from the south, and I'd never been this far from my own pack before.

What kind of wolves were out that way? Would I have a chance at escaping this tyrant? I couldn't help

the seed of hope that settled into my heart.

Bo left us and Zale took a seat beside me, before dragging me into his lap. He leaned down, rubbing

his nose along my neck. His hot breath painted my skin. I shivered and he groaned against me,

pressing against me.

"Keep that up, and I won't be able to wait," he whispered into my ear.

He grabbed my shirt, ripping it off my body. "Hey!" I gasped, covering myself the best I could. My

bruised skin was exposed.

Zale's eyes narrowed, tracing over every mark. "Who did this?" he whispered.

The words were glued in my throat. If I revealed the culprit the monsters would end up facing each

other. And while the thought of Zale winning filled me with warmth, I couldn't bear to think of the

consequences if he failed. I'd never seen him fight, but I'd seen the murderer and the battles he'd won.

Zale reached out, grabbing me by the chin, squeezing and forcing me to stare into his eyes. "You will

tell me. You're mine, given to me by the Gods themselves, and no one touches my things. Even if he

did this before I knew you existed, I don't give a damn. Tell me everything, or we're going to get around

to those punishments I told you about. I don't play games when it comes to my possessions, Amanda."

"I've got the things," Bo announced as he came back into the room. A leather collar attached to

chained manacles was draped over his arm and a short white slip of clothing they couldn't possibly

expect me to wear. "Oh, what's going on here?" he set the things down, striding closer and licked his

lips. "Is it time to play?"