Page 25 of The Red Moon

I might disagree with your choices, young Vostik, but I have never lied.

Natalia narrows her eyes, the fire I find so irresistible burning hot in each brown iris. She glances behind me to Dimitri. “Are you buying this?”

Dimitri shrugs. “You did look hungry, Nikolai …”

The big one is too human to understand the nature of our kind, my wolf says, and although I can’t see him, I imagine he’s rolling his eyes. The scent of her, the one you can’t control yourself for five minutes to stop smelling, it is unique. Why do you think you’re so drawn to her? It isn’t as simple as attraction. I’ve told you before, wolves rely on more than their sight.

Confusion settles in Natalia’s features as the wolf continues in my head. “Has he been doing this a lot?”

“More than usual,” Dimitri mutters and sits back at the table, folding his arms across his chest.

I sensed what you did the first night you met her, only it was the difference between looking at the moon through a magnifying glass and a telescope. Had you let me in sooner, maybe you would’ve detected it, too. I saw your mate for what she is, and when a wolf finds something they spend their entire life searching for, they must imprint at any cost.

I open my mouth and close it just as quick. How am I supposed to tell her this? Will she even believe me? It’s undeniable that after the full moon, I found it impossible not to spend every waking moment desperate for her. Willing to sacrifice anything to keep her nearby. I told her she was dangerous once, but I don’t think I even grasped the full picture. Her scent isn’t just alluring. It’s primal. And an imprint isn’t something that can be undone. Replicated. It’s a promise, and my wolf knew it from the moment he saw her.

“What did he say?” she asks, lowering her arm.

A dry laugh escapes me. “It’s … kind of difficult to explain.”

Natalia gives a laugh of her own, one filled with annoyance. “Okay, so what was he doing then? Breaking out of the chains to come say hi?”

Wolves don’t waste their time with such trivial greetings.

I block him out and take the final step between us, reveling in how the scent masks the oil-driven machines around us. There’s only her, and the smell produces a calm I haven’t felt in far too long. She doesn’t move. She doesn’t try and stop me. Natalia just peers upward, eyes a shade brighter than they were the last time I saw her.

“I don’t want to keep things from you. Not again. Not ever.”

She bites her lower lip as if bracing for the impact of what I say next. A deep, shaky breath raises her chest. There’s hesitation, enough to notice the small lines tensing her brow. “So, don’t.”

It’s not every day you tell the girl you’ve fallen for that she’s your fate. A wolf should be so lucky to find that person in the first place. Somehow, my father’s assignment to secure food for the pack ultimately led me to the one person that’d give me the strength to abandon my birthright. It might be the only thing I can ever thank him for.

I bring my hand to the side of her face, thumb grazing her cheek. She doesn’t shy away from it. Doesn’t flinch. No, she invites the touch, her skin rivaling the heat coming from my own. Gods, do I want to kiss her. Wrap my arms around her like chains and throw away the fucking key.

I clear my throat, eyes fixed on her partially open lips. “I’ve imprinted on you …”

She glances down in contemplation for a moment, then returns her confused gaze to mine. “What does that mean?”

“It means—” I start but get cut off by a familiar voice at the factory entrance.

“It means your pack is on its way here, and we need to go!”

Alexey stumbles through the doors, knocking over everything in his path. He holds an arm to his side, bright red blood trickling through his fingertips. When he leans his back against a pillar, the pain is evident in his face. “I don’t think you heard me. We go.” Alexey tilts his head to the front doors. “We go now!”

SEVENTEEN

NATALIE

We were gone within ten minutes. There were questions. Oh, boy, were there questions eating away at my mind, but Nikolai didn’t give me the chance to ask them. He practically dragged me to the front seat of the SUV and closed me in. I could only stare out the passenger window while they took turns loading duffel bags to the back. And with each one added, a new knot formed in my stomach. The cramp was unlike anything I’ve ever felt. It was as if all of my organs were twisting in different directions. I did my best to ignore it, only wincing when the car jutted forward and the boxes slammed against the second row. We drove off, the abandoned factory at a distance in the rearview, and unanswered questions leaving a bitter taste on my tongue.

“How did this happen?” Dimitri asks, inspecting the wounds on the man in bloody military fatigues in the backseat. I didn’t get his name, only watched as Dimitri carried him to the bench row and hoisted him in.

“One of the mutts snuck up on me,” he says dismissively.

I turn around and peer at him. Pain deepens the harsh lines of his forehead, and his cheeks and neck are rich with stubble and sweat. “How did you get away?”

The man scoffs. “Please, princess. It take more than a mutt to stop Alexey Sarkov. Oh, and big man,” he says, smirking at Dimitri rifling through the first aid kit. “Last one brought grand total to eleven.”

Nikolai tightens his grip on the steering wheel and judging by the veins appearing on his tattooed forearms, he’s inches away from ripping the wheel from the dash. “Call her a princess again,” Nik growls and veers off the uneven terrain to fresh pavement. The entire car tilts to one side, settling back on all fours violently. “And I’ll be happy to finish what that mutt started.”