The Wild Moon by Riley Storm

Chapter Thirty-Six

“How far do you think we came today?” I asked Aaron softly while I stared into the fire, mesmerized by the flickering lights of the flames.

“Eight, maybe ten miles,” he said.

I blinked. “That’s it? We hiked for nearly eight hours.”

“Through the forest,” he pointed out. “Going up and down hills. Backtracking around that gorge added an hour as well. When you’re not moving in a straight line, it takes a lot longer. We probably walked closer to fifteen.”

“Oh,” I said. “That makes more sense. I guess.”

I wasn’t really used to this kind of expedition, and it was showing. I didn’t ask any more questions that would betray my ignorance. Aaron had been right to call me out on my bluster. This was nothing like living in the country. If it weren’t for his team, I would never have made it this far on my own.

My wolf tugged at me, and I glanced upward toward the sky through the canopy of trees. Above, the moon loomed into view, the cloudless skies giving us a beautiful view.

“It’s so much brighter out here,” I remarked as my wolf stirred again, empowered by that silver orb. Tomorrow night the Wild Moon would be here, and she would be stronger than ever. Until then, however, I was in control still.

That didn’t stop her from feeling active tonight. She was like me, frustrated and confused by what we were feeling. Aaron helped to calm it, which is why we were perched on a fallen log, as close to him as we could get without being in his embrace.

If this keeps getting worse the closer the Wild Moon gets, then that just might be where I end up.

The Soulbond and my wolf were a mirror of one another. With only one night to go, I was having a hard time ignoring it. Especially with Johnathan growing closer. I could practically feel him gaining on us with each passing hour. I wondered if he was in his wolf form. That would let him pace us as he saw fit. Watching. Waiting.

But beyond him was that other pull. The unknown.

“Are you okay?” Aaron asked gently.

I needed to do a better job containing my inner turmoil.

“I’m fine,” I said, trying to ignore the blatant lie we both knew I was telling.

For a moment, I almost leaned into him to rest my head on his shoulder. I caught myself in time, stiffening my spine to sit straight instead. This was impossible! I needed to be as close to Aaron as possible these days to keep my head clear, but the more time I spent near him, the harder it was to resist the call of my body.

I was being torn in multiple directions, and nothing I’d learned growing up as a wolf shifter had prepared me for something like this.

Looking up, I inhaled sharply. Aaron was staring at me. His eyes were brighter than I’d ever seen them before. The moon’s silvery glow was catching the blue, giving it a ghostly twist. My throat was dry.

My body craved to be touched. The Wild Moon was always the hardest time of the month to be single. Hormones ran wild during it to help promote female fertility to keep the pack growing.

Right now, I was dealing with those effects while seated next to a man I knew could sate all my desires and more. It was obvious, from the way he walked to the curl of his lips. Aaron was an Alpha predator of his own, and a not-insignificant part of me welcomed him, wishing I could replace Johnathan with him.

Even now, as we locked eyes, neither speaking, my throat drier than the Sahara, I could picture how magical it would be to let him have me. Finally, a man who could sate my basest desires by railing me absolutely silly.

If this is what it’s like now, how the hell am I going to resist him tomorrow under the full moon?

There was only one answer to that, one solution I could think of that wouldn’t result in me giving away the entire existence of my species and perhaps killing some of the team in the process when I shifted and lost control.

I was going to have to be very far away from the camp. Which meant far from Aaron’s protection as well. If Johnathan were out here, following us into the wild, I would be exposed. Vulnerable.

“Dani,” Aaron said, tearing his gaze away. “We need to talk.”

Gulp. “About what?” I asked hoarsely.

Was this it? Was he going to finally acknowledge whatever it was I could feel between us? Perhaps he would lead me out into the forest and take me as his own there, surrounded by the wild. I burned warm between my legs, unable to contain my desires.

“Who is it?”

“Who is what?” I asked, not caring if my words didn’t make sense.

My brain was a steaming pile of mush thanks to those eyes, and I impatiently waited for him to get the hint and kiss me already. I no longer cared about his team, about what they might hear or think. I only had the need.

“We’re being followed,” he said quietly.

Ice entered his eyes and washed over me like the water of a cold shower, bringing me back from my fantasies of getting laid and plunking me down into reality. Aaron knew. He knew. But how?

“How can you know that?” I asked.

“Because,” he said, his eyes flicking around the campfire, “my team is very good at what they do.”

I followed his gaze, noting with surprise that none of his men were sitting looking at the fire. They had their backs to it, staring out into the forest. They were watching. I hadn’t heard Aaron say a thing. They were doing it on their own.

How did I miss that?

At some point, I’d become so wrapped up in myself I’d failed to notice the change in the team.

Johnathan. It had to be Johnathan. These men were used to being in the wilderness. They could sense when something was off. I had a cheat code in terms of my Soulbond, but it was also a blinder. I couldn’t see past it. I couldn’t focus enough on everything else to gain a sense of the world around me. The drums were too strong.

“Who is it?” I asked, wondering if he suspected I was aware of it.

“I’m not sure,” he admitted.

He was telling the truth. I was sure of it. That meant he didn’t know it was because of me that someone had come out here. Probably multiple someones. Johnathan wouldn’t have come alone. Would he?

Unless he, too, was being driven by the Soulbond, like me.

“I was hoping you would know,” Aaron added when I didn’t say anything.

“I don’t,” I whispered, not sure of what else to say.

“Then, if you don’t know who it is, you won’t mind if my team takes care of it,” Aaron said.

It was a test. He was trying to get me to admit to knowing.

“Deal with it?” I asked, taking the third option open to me, besides admitting or denying any further knowledge. “You mean kill whoever it is, don’t you?”

Why did he want to kill whoever it was? Even if I was being followed, why would he care? There was no way Aaron could know I was more than just the daughter of a human explorer. So, why immediately choose violence?

Aaron didn’t reply. He just looked at me, his face immobile, like it was carved from granite. He wasn’t bothered at all by the idea of violence.

“Why? Are we being pursued by enemies? Do we even have enemies?” I pushed when nobody responded. “I don’t have any enemies. How do I know these aren’t your enemies following us?”

“Exactly,” Aaron said tersely. “We don’t know that.”

That opened my eyes a bit. “Wait. You seriously have enemies, people that would follow you out here, that you’d just up and kill? Without questions?”

Aaron stared stonily, not responding.

“Who the fuck are you?” I asked, getting a sick feeling in my stomach. “There’s no way you’re just treasure hunters. There’s more. Are you some sort of mercenary group? Did you drag me into your issues? And why the hell would my father work with you?”

Sighing, Aaron stood. “There’s a lot you have to learn yet, Danielle. Now stay seated.”

I swallowed nervously. He’d never talked to me like this before. Aaron had always been kind. Calm. Sure, he’d roped me into being his unpaid thug, but he’d always been nice about it. This was an entirely different side to him.

One that I didn’t like.

“Fred,” Aaron said quietly. “Handle it.”

Fred stood, and I realized for the first time that he was holding a weapon in his hands.

“Where the hell did that come from?” I yelped. The semi-automatic rifle was far too large to have been the bulge hiding under his shirt I’d seen earlier.

The other members of Aaron’s team had procured weapons from somewhere as well, a mixture of rifles and wicked-looking pistols, and in Pieter’s tiny hands, a sawed-off shotgun.

“Sit down,” Aaron barked as I got to my feet, thinking I should try and stop them.

“What are they going to do?” I asked, still standing.

“They’re going to make sure we’re safe,” Aaron said as the other five members of his team disappeared into the wilderness without a word. “Now, sit down.”

“No,” I said, worried sick for whoever was out there.

I hated Johnathan, his father, too, but I didn’t want to see them gunned down in an orgy of blood and death. Not to mention, if they heard Aaron’s men coming, the blood spilled wouldn’t be that of the shifters. It would be his team. And then, they would come for us next.

Aaron stood, getting in my face. “You are safe, Dani. We’re not going to hurt you. Now sit down.”

“Call them off!” I shouted, not backing away. “Now!”

“You know who’s out there, don’t you?” he asked.

“No,” I said, not sure why I was sticking with that lie.

Because to tell the truth would mean revealing the secret of what you really are. You can’t do that.

“Then my men will continue to ensure our safety,” Aaron said coldly.

He didn’t like being lied to, but I had no choice. I couldn’t just tell him we were being followed by a man who could sense me, thanks to our link, granted to us by the animal that lived inside us. I had to clamp down and hope that Johnathan and whoever he was with decided to avoid trouble instead of seeking out a fight.

I really hope you left your father behind, John. Because he wouldn’t see the logic in retreating.

“This is insane,” I hissed. “You’re insane. I can’t believe I trusted you. I want to–”