Page 24 of Moonlight & Mayhem

“You won’t,” he agreed.

“And now you’re making the choice for both of us,” she countered.

“To keep you alive,” he said.

“I didn’t ask you to protect me, Mayhem,” she spat.

“I don’t fucking care!” His roar shook the room, and Moon froze. So did he. Mayhem dragged a hand over his face. When he spoke again, his voice was quieter. “I almost watched that wolf tear you apart tonight.” Moon’s anger faltered. “I can’t do that again.”

“Mayhem,” she whispered.

“No.” He looked at her. His eyes were a warm amber color again. “I can handle this thing killing me.” Her throat tightened. “But I won’t let it use me to kill you.” Moon’s wolf whimpered. She hated that his words touched the oldest wound inside her. Her father had sacrificed her mother for his pack. Mayhem was willing to sacrifice himself for her. Neither choice felt right.

“You’re an idiot,” she whispered.

“Probably.”

“And stubborn,” she quickly added.

“Definitely,” he agreed.

“And I hate you a little right now.”

His mouth twitched. “Only a little?” Moon shoved him, not hard. He caught her wrist. The bond surged and heat shot up her arm. Both of them gasped. The clinic disappeared, and for one impossible second, Moon saw darkness, trees, a circle of wolves standing beneath a blood-red moon, Mayhem on his knees, chains of silver wrapped around his arms, and behind him—a woman. Moon couldn’t see her face, but she heard her voice.

Bring me the healer.

Moon ripped her hand away from him and stumbled backward. “Moon?”

Mayhem reached for her. “Don’t touch me.”

He froze, and her breathing came too fast. “What did you see?”

Moon stared at him. “How did you know?”

“Because I saw it too.”

Ice flooded her veins. “The woman?” He nodded, and Moon’s wolf howled. Footsteps pounded down the hall, and the clinic door flew open. Tempest entered first, gun in hand, with Howler directly behind her.

“What happened?” Tempest demanded.

Moon couldn’t answer, so Mayhem did. “We saw something.”

Tempest’s gaze snapped between them. “Saw what?”

Moon looked at her Prez. That instinct she had spent years distrusting was screaming now, and this time, she listened. “The Capitol Wolves weren’t the ones behind this.”

Howler’s expression hardened. “What are you talking about?”

Moon picked up the journal. “The Hollow Pack isn’t trying to rebuild.” She looked at Mayhem. “They’re working for someone.”

Tempest stepped closer. “Who?” Moon thought about the woman beneath the red moon—her voice and the command that she gave. Bring me the healer.

“I don’t know.” Her wolf pressed against her skin, trembling. “But she knows who I am.” Silence settled over the room, and then Moon looked down at the open journal. On the page, beneath a faded drawing of a crescent moon surrounded by black thorns, were five words she could have sworn hadn’t been there before.

The Silver Healer must return.

Moon stopped breathing. Tempest moved beside her. “What the hell does that mean?” Moon stared at the words and for the first time in her life, she didn’t doubt the warning screaming through her soul. She knew exactly what it meant.