Page 67 of Treasured

That one word gave me pause. Obviously, I trusted her. It wasn’t even a question. I would give her my life for safekeeping a thousand times over. It was the wolf I didn’t trust. It didn’t know Luna was my treasure. If it hurt a hair on her head, I’d tear it apart.

Luna slanted her head, holding out her hands at her sides. “My name is Luna, and that big grump behind me is Sebastian.”

The wolf’s ears twitched, and its eyes were sharp as it stared at her. My heart drummed a steady tempo, and my throbbing shadows were the accompaniment. One wrong move, and I would destroy the wolf. Broken bond or not, right now, it didn’t matter.

“We just need a bit of your blood,” Luna said softly, as though she wasn’t being completely unsafe by speaking to a wild wolf. However, there was a lilt to her words, and I realized she was infusing Persuasive magic into her voice. I didn’t think it would work, though. This creature, though large, lacked the distinctive signs of a werewolf. “My husband needs to break a bond. That’s all. We don’t want to kill you.”

The wolf watched Luna. I expected it to attack, to snarl, to lunge at her and threaten to tear her to pieces. Instead, it did nothing. It sat there, staring at Luna with those piercing blue eyes as though she were the only thing in the entire world.

I understood where the wolf was coming from. Luna was fascinating. Every time I thought I understood this wife of mine, she went and did something like this. She was incredible and brave. So brave.

Too brave.

One day, if Luna wasn’t careful, actions like this would get her killed.

She took another step forward, then two more.

A snarl rumbled through my chest. “Luna, stop.”

She shot me a look over her shoulder. Stand down, Sebastian. I’ve got this under control.

Standing down was not in my vocabulary, especially when it came to my wife’s well-being. I gripped the dagger and drew more shadows around me so I could move at the first hint of danger.

Luna moved even closer.

Who knew it was possible to feel so much fear, frustration, and awe all at once?

Most of me wanted to gather Luna into my arms and shadow her back to the abbey, breaking the bond be damned. That same part of me wanted to keep her locked up forever for her own safety, so no harm could ever befall her. The other part of me was in complete awe at her courage.

Soon, she was close enough that if the wolf lunged, it would rip out her throat before I could stop it. Vampires were practically immortal, but even we couldn’t survive without our heads.

“Please help us,” Luna said in that same lilting, musical voice. She held one hand in the air in the universal symbol of I mean you no harm, and with the other hand, she dug in her bag and withdrew the empty vial. “We need to stop the queen, and we’ve exhausted all our other options.”

The wolf angled its head as though considering Luna’s words. An entire minute went by before it moved.

In a moment I would never forget, the massive creature dropped to the ground, rested its head on its front paws, and looked at us through hooded eyes.

“Thank you,” Luna said to the wolf. To me, she whispered, Hurry.

I was beside her in the space of a breath. Kneeling, I lifted one of the wolf’s paws. Those blue eyes tracked my movements as I nicked the leg just enough to let the wolf’s blood flow. Luna caught the vital liquid in the vial, filling it to the top before replacing the cork.

When we had enough, Luna placed her hand on the wolf’s head. “Thank you for your gift.”

Standing, the creature dipped its head in acknowledgment before loping into the forest. It had a slight limp where we’d taken its blood, but nothing major.

Now, we were alone.

The shock of seeing Luna walk towards the wolf was wearing off, and in its place, anger was bubbling up inside me.

Wrapping the vial in a cloth, Luna seemed unaware of my inner turmoil. She put it away in her satchel before looking at me with a grin. “We did it.”

How could she be happy right now? She’d almost gotten herself killed.

I stared at Luna, my free fist clenching and unclenching at my side. “That was really s—”

“Smart,” she interrupted me, her grin widening.

“Stupid,” I corrected, shaking my head. Rising to my feet, I dissolved my dagger and ran my hands through my hair. Usually, it helped me remain calm, but right now, that was worlds away. “How could you risk your life like that, Luna?”