Bound By Moonlight to My Mates (by Sofange Daye) novel Chapter 51

Chapter 51

Charlotte

My heart slams in my chest. I know that voice. I know the tingle that resides beneath my skin. Ronan.

I twist, no longer sure who’s on my side. My claws are out, ready to strike, but he pins me easily with one arm, binding my arms to my waist. “Stop fighting me,” he hisses. “I’m not here to hurt you.”

I glare into his eyes before taking in the rest of him. My breath catches. He looks awful. Worse than awful. His eyes are sunken in, nothing more than dark circles. His usually perfect shirt is torn and streaked with dried blood. There’s a tremor in his hands that he doesn’t try to hide.

He loosens his grip, trailing his fingers down to my hand. Wrapping his fingers around mine, he begins to drag me through the forest. “Ronan,” I fight against him. “Stop.”

He spins quickly, covering my mouth with his hand. “I can’t save you if you keep making noise.”

“Why?” I whisper against his palm. “Why are you saving me?”

“Because if they catch you now, they’ll tear you apart. And because…” His jaw tightens. “Because my pack is falling apart and I’m not losing you, too.”

He drags me deeper into the forest, moving silently and quickly. We emerge at an abandoned cabin, half–hidden by the trees and ivy. The scent of rot and pine needles clings to it, but the lock on the door is new.

He ushers me inside, shutting the door with a quiet click.

1

We e

The cabin is dim and stripped bare except for a cot, a cracked dresser, and a few lanterns. He lets go of my hand and steps back, guarding the door as if he’s afraid I’ll bolt. I step back into the middle of the room, assessing the situation. Ronan’s eyes aren’t yellow. He isn’t sick, at least not yet..

He steps toward me before pressing his fingers into his eyes. He’s tired. He hasn’t slept. Pacing the floor, he mutters wildly under his breath.

“I shouldn’t have brought you here,” he whispers. “I shouldn’t be here. The sickness it’s spreading faster. The elders have turned against me. Samson is calling for my head because I won’t kill you. They’re saying you’re the cause. If we kill you, this will all end.”

My stomach drops, and I put more space between us. Is this why he brought me here? To kill me? I swallow my fear, looking for another exit, but there is none.

“And you believe them?”

His eyes flash strangely. “No. I don’t think killing you is the answer.”

Somehow, his words don’t make me feel better. “What do you think?”

He is pacing again. “They took something from you. I didn’t know they took it. You have to believe me.”

The cabin tilts, and the edges of my vision turn white. “My father’s box?”

“Yes. He thinks whatever’s inside will end the sickness, but they are unable to open it. They have even tried to destroy it, but it remains in one piece.”

The silence between us stretches longer than it should. The bond between us is taut, trying to drag us together. Me, the ancient one, and the mate who rejected me. I know why I am here.

“You brought me here to kill me,” I whisper.

He flinches at my words, eating the space between us. “I should. But I can’t.”

Something inside me snaps. I press my hands against his shoulders and try to shove him back, but he’s unmovable. I pound my fists into his chest. “You rejected. You humiliated me. You made me run. You made me hide…”

He grabs my wrists, stopping my assault. “And I’ve regretted it every day since.”

Our

eyes

lock. Mine are filled with tears that spill over my lids onto my cheeks. His eyes are soft, silently pleading for forgiveness. But there is too much history between us. Too much pain for me to simply forgive and forget. Tala presses against my skin, sensing his wolf, and growing hungry for his touch.

“This doesn’t change anything,” I whisper, even as my body betrays me and leans toward his.

“Doesn’t it?” His fingers brush my jaw, and his calloused thumb tilts my chin. “Your scent’s driving me insane. The bond between us is growing too strong for me to deny.”

“If you only want me because of the bond,” I mutter. “That isn’t enough for me.”

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