AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She was an idiot.
No matter which way she tried to view it, in the light of day, she’d fallen for a man who’d chosen to marry another woman less than twelve hours after he’d fucked her.
That had to be some kind of record.
For all she knew, he was engaged before he took her to bed. It was just a reminder that she didn’t know a damn thing about Draven.
No matter how hard Flora tried to force herself to relax and enjoy the ride through the dense woods, she couldn’t stop thinking about Draven. It didn’t help that the forest didn’t come alive around her, not like the one behind the castle. She hadn’t realized how much she craved the connection to the world until she’d been forced to forgo her daily rides. It could have also been that the man whose legs she sat between was not the one she desired.
Her heart sank.
Draven’s reassuring arms and filthy words were exactly what she needed the night before, but now the memory only left her feeling dirty.
The truth was, she only had herself to blame. She knew what she was getting into when she allowed herself to indulge in the feelings that extended beyond their deal. Flora jumped in with both feet, ignoring all the things logic told her. But logic didn’t hold up when it came to matters of the heart. Experience did, and now she had it. Between her father’s stellar example of how a man should be, and growing up with the knowledge she had a one-in-twenty chance of becoming a vampire queen, she didn’t have a lot to go on before Draven. Not that she expected him to profess his love and get down on one knee after less than a week. She knew that only happened in the movies. Still, she hadn’t expected his rejection so soon…
Or the sting of the hot poker that stabbed her heart every time her thoughts circled back to him.
Thank goodness Draven and Mateo chose to ride a good distance behind her and Kade. She didn’t need to watch the way his muscles tensed and shifted under the plaid shirt that suited him so well or the way his ass fit in the saddle. Men on horses were a weakness she hadn’t known she had, but damn if he didn’t make her vagina go pitter patter the moment he swung his leg over the saddle.
It was a good thing Kade and Mateo weren’t her type. Kade was all bulky muscle, and made Draven look lean in comparison. And Mateo, he gave off mafia don vibes. Strong and dominating with a hint of dark and mysterious. That was, until he opened his mouth.
As they continued up the trail, the early summer breeze whistled ominously through the trees. It was the only sound besides that of their horses’ hooves against the soft earth, which didn’t sit well with Flora. The forest should be alive this time of year, with animals and their young flourishing. Even the insects were quiet, something that should be impossible.
“You should hear him out.” Kade whispered in her ear. Not that it would matter how quiet he was; Draven and his damn vampire ears would hear every word his second said.
“I don’t need to.” Flora wasn’t sure there was anything Draven could say that would make his rejection better.
“He did it to protect the pack and secure his place as Alpha,” Kade protested.
“I know why he did it, Kade.” Flora kept her eyes on the trail, unwilling to let any of the wolves see the pesky tears that threatened to fall. “Pack is everything to Draven, just as my people are to me—people like Emery.”
Kade let out a sound that was somewhere between a scoff and a growl. “So that’s it? You’ll walk away from the undeniable attraction between the two of you?”
Flora swallowed hard, trying and failing to calm her erratic heartbeat. She didn’t want to walk away, but Draven had made his choice. Why the hell would she fight for someone who wouldn’t choose her? Especially after claiming her as thoroughly as he did and speaking to her fucking soul with his body.
She understood why he chose pack. The logic was there. He’d never pretended to be anyone but the future Alpha. The problem was her heart couldn’t wrap its mind around the idea that the man she’d seen in stolen moments wasn’t also a part of the equation.
Flora lifted her chin and kept her voice steady. “If the attraction is there, you’re the only one who sees it, Kade.”
A low growl from behind them filled the narrow path they were on. Flora rolled her eyes. Fucking vampire hearing. He didn’t get to growl at her, especially not when he’d made his choice, and it wasn’t her. Now he had to live with it.
The sun dipped behind the trees, leaving the forest a beautiful array of shadows and light that flickered as they rode. Their pace had been steady, but Flora wasn’t sure they would make it to the base of the mountain before dark if they didn’t pick up their tempo. They rode in relative silence for the next few hours, aside from a few whispers between Mateo and Draven, but even with the quiet woods, Flora couldn’t make out what they were saying. And she wasn’t about to ask Kade. The truth was, it would likely only worsen her mood.
Kade shifted behind her and let out a soft sigh that tickled her neck. She craned her head to see that he was okay and found he was staring toward the sky. When she traced his gaze, she found a waxing moon rising in the late afternoon sky.
“Is it truly a part of you?” Flora mused out loud. She’d been so preoccupied from the moment she’d arrived with the wolves that she hadn’t truly considered the wolves’ relationship with the moon beyond what Draven had shared, or what uniting the moonstone would mean for them.
“You have no idea,” Kade answered, his voice sounding almost reverent.
“Does it call to you? Like blood calls to a vampire?”
“Something like that. The moon is the vessel through which our Goddess gives us strength. She used it to craft the moonstone, giving us life, and to mark the time in which we are most virile. It is under the moon that we are blessed by her, and at one time were given our moon mates as a gift for following her and abiding by her will.”
“Until the moonstone shattered.”
Kade turned his head away from her so she could only see his profile, but Flora didn’t miss the lost look that plagued his features.
“And we shattered right along with it.” He closed his eyes and spoke softly, as if daring to hope were a crime. “For centuries, we haven’t known life as it was meant to be. We’ve been left always feeling like there should be more, living for the few hours a month when the Goddess shone her light upon us. For the first time, in not only my lifetime but generations before me, there is hope for a future that will unify our kind and allow us to become what we were supposed to be from the beginning.” He lowered his eyes to Flora, and she got the sense he was pleading for her to understand. “None of us will do anything to jeopardize that.”
