Moon Bound (Forgotten Series, #5)

Chapter Fourteen

What if I had my wolf taken from me and had been tied to a person I did not know before being told I had lost a core part of who I was physically? I would have reacted the same. True, it was similar to the loss of Amanda but there were many shifters out there who carried the burden of those they lost much easier than I had. I had been delusional in my grief and I had hurt someone. Someone I was now responsible for and was bonded to. I had to deal with the pain my actions caused. There was nothing else to it.

I lifted my head, taking in the derelict and rather out of place bar that rested on the territory. Lynn had found it amusing and I had been so tired and rundown I had snapped back at her. I wondered if I had perhaps known what was coming and had been snapping at her to keep in control. I had just been tired and so exhausted. My mind had been whirling about what those in Altia would say to me, to us. I had been scared that perhaps there would be a way that Lynn could leave me and, as selfish as it was, I couldn't bear the thought of letting her go.

I hesitated, my hand over the door handle, before I let out a heavy sigh and slowly pushed down on the handle and shoved the creaky and pain chipped door inwards. There was a muted clank as it hit a bell with no clapper and the interior was dusty and smelled of stale cigarette smoke and ash. I blinked as I took in the faded beer bottle labels on the wall and torn posters that hung haphazardly everywhere else. The lighting was dim and it made the space seem far more enclosed than it truly was. I closed the door, looking at the stained tables and duct taped booths. The bar was... something else.

I wrinkled my nose with distaste right as I spotted a lone figure leaning on the bar, their arms on the bar top with their head down. I didn't need to smell the faint spice undercurrent of her warm smell to know it was Lynn. I slowly made my way over, once again shoving my hands into my pockets and tightening them into fists to keep from reaching out to her.

"Hey." I said it softly as I reached her side and she didn't even move. I shifted closer to her and she tilted her head, her hair falling over her shoulder and sending a thick wave of her scent mixed in with a sharp and cold scent of what smelled like stone. My wolf was instantly on point and I snapped my teeth together as jealously shoved a sharp and ugly spear through me.

I moved before I even realized what I was doing, my back pressed against hers and my hands gripping the bar top my claws digging in deep as my chest rumbled. "So you leave me alone but can find yourself with other males?" I dug my claws in deeper as I hissed the words in her ear.

"Don't need this right now." She muttered the words with a groan as she buried her face further into her arms, an effective action letting me know she wasn't going to listen. My wolf had a terrible need to remind her of just who her mate was. He wanted her mark renewed and aching just to remind her of the fact she was still tied to us. There would be no other males around her, or close to her. She was ours.

My growls deepened as my canines grew, the teeth filling my mouth. I wanted her flesh against my tongue as I forced her submission to me. We might have lost our Alpha position but we would never lose our little mate. No matter what she did or tried to do, she would be with us and only us. I scraped my claws through the wood, It gave barely any resistance to the movements.

"This the asshole, kitten?" A large, blond male sauntered over with a grin and Lynn simply nodded against her arms. He looked me over, his jaw held proudly in the bearing of an Alpha Male. I knew he was one, I could smell the ego on him. I bared my teeth at him, a snarl making its way out of my throat.

Lynn gave another groan and swatted at me. "Don't." I grabbed her wrist and pinned it to the bar. She was not allowed to hit us for the action. We were protecting what was ours. He raised an eyebrow, shifting on his feet in subtle moves that let me know he was on the offensive. I bared my teeth again, snapping at him in warning.