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I glanced back at him, my tongue lolling from the side of my mouth as I panted, trying to catch my breath.
“Stop,” his mate screamed. “Stop! We’ll go. We’ll leave and never come back. Please. Please save him!”
My gut clenched and my heart broke. But, my wolf was happy. He held his head high and bayed in delight at his triumph. Two humans, in what I could only describe as riot gear, dragged the injured wolf from the arena floor and I barely registered it when another human with a microphone declared me the winner.
Scar was nowhere to be found, of course, since he too was a wolf and was out turning somewhere. But I had quickly caught onto his penchant for watching the fights over and over from his computer after the full moon, as he had every one filmed. Sick, sadistic, demonic motherfucker.
I dragged myself to my room that next morning tired, injured, and internally howling in grief that I might have possibly killed that kid. He didn’t deserve that.
But neither did I.
“Do you want to go on a walk?” I asked Nera as we exited Rumble. It was a short walk to the clubhouse, but I wanted to be alone with her. The protective, possessive wolf in me wanted to never let her out of my sight. I wanted to make sure she was safe. Of course, no harm would come to her here on this compound, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be out of her presence.
“Sure,” she replied with a soft smile that reached her eyes. Instead of turning right to go to the clubhouse, we took a left and headed up the paved road that led to the homes at the back of the compound.
We walked in silence for quite a few minutes, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. The sun was beginning to set and the moon glowed brighter the longer we walked. I was grateful as hell that I was done with my monthly curse for the next thirty days.
Seeming to have the same thoughts, Nera looked up at the moon. “You’re gonna need to leave soon, huh?”
I shook my head and in an act of bravery, or maybe it was just instinct, I grabbed her hand. It was soft and warm in mine, and I was glad when she didn’t pull away or protest. “No, I only turn one night a month.”
She looked up at me, shock coloring her features. “Really? I thought it was all three nights of the full moon.”
“Well, it is for pure wolves. My mother is a wolf. My father was human. It’s a weird loophole,” I replied.
“So… if both parents are wolves, then you’re a full-blooded wolf. If only one, then you’re half?” she asked.
I shook my head. “No. If one parent is a werewolf, then the children are full-blooded wolves. The only difference is the control the moon has over them. With a human parent, you only turn one night a month. With both wolf parents, you turn for three.”
“Huh,” she replied. “That’s super interesting. I had no idea.” She grinned up at me then squeezed my hand.
We walked along the road, a soft spring breeze blowing, reminding us that we were limited with this mild weather until summer arrived and drowned us in humidity.
“What, they don’t teach you that in witch school?” I asked.
She shook her head with a laugh. “No witch school. Well, not really. Our mothers, aunts, and grandmas teach us. Mostly.”
“Tell me about you,” I said as we walked and enjoyed the breeze.
“Not much to know,” she replied. “Raised by a single mom. No idea who my dad is, or was. Mom won’t say. I think she knows and just doesn’t tell me. She’s off doing her own thing. I have a brother, Alec. He’s a warlock but definitely doesn’t practice. He lives in Tampa and parties too much. Probably doesn’t even realize I’m missing.”
“If someone called the police—which they obviously did since there are missing person fliers—I’m sure they questioned him,” I reply.
“You’re probably right. I doubt he cares.” I saw a hint of sadness in her eyes. “My mom either. Probably thinks I’m off partying, too.”
I shook my head. “Just because that’s what you went to Biloxi for doesn’t mean you’d stay gone for seven weeks. Someone should have known something was wrong.”
“I’m sure it was Amanda who called the police. My mom and brother don’t care.”
It made me sad to hear it. We finally reached the back of the compound, which was cordoned off with the large black wrought-iron gate that surrounded it. I glanced at the camera mounted to see it doing its job by swiveling in our direction when it detected movement.
“Wow, beautiful view,” Nera breathed as we stopped at the gate to stare at the view of Lake Pontchartrain, the full moon’s reflection dancing over the lazy wind-fueled ripples.
I smiled. “It really is. It’s why I chose this property for the compound.”
She sucked in the side of her bottom lip again, staring wide-eyed at the lake. “I don’t blame you. It was a good choice.”
We were holding hands, but she used her other one to grip the gate.
