When the Moon Slept

Rain hammered against the wide glass windows when Luna woke. The room smelled of cedarwood and smoke-too clean, too expensive. Soft sheets tangled around her; an IV line trailed from her arm to a machine that hummed quietly beside the bed.

Her pulse quickened. Where am I?

The door opened. Kael stepped in, dressed in black jeans and a half-buttoned shirt that did nothing to hide the lean muscle beneath. Power radiated from him; it pressed against her skin like heat from a storm.

"You're awake," he said. His voice carried no relief, only tension held on a leash.

Luna pushed herself upright. "You kidnapped me."

Kael's jaw flexed. "I saved you. You were dying when my men found you."

"Then let me go."

He gave a short, humorless laugh and crossed the room until he stood at the edge of her bed. "You don't walk out of a pack's territory without answers. Not when you bear that mark."

He lifted her wrist. The faint sigil shimmered beneath her skin, pulsing in time with her heartbeat. Her breath caught; warmth surged where his fingers touched her.

"What does it mean?" she whispered.

Kael's eyes met hers-storm-gray, fierce, conflicted. "It means you belong to me. Or you did... before you betrayed the bond."

"I don't remember any of it."

"That's convenient." His voice softened for just a second. "But your body remembers. That's why you can't lie to me."

The words sent a tremor through her, part fear, part something else she couldn't name. She tore her wrist from his grip and swung her legs off the bed. "I'm not your prisoner."

"Try the door," he said simply.

She did. It didn't budge.

"Security code," he added, watching her frustration. "You're not safe outside this room. Not yet."

"From who?"

He hesitated. "From me."

Their eyes locked. For a long moment neither moved. Lightning flashed behind him, silvering the lines of his face, the scar near his jaw, the flicker of pain he couldn't hide.

He stepped closer. "You once said I was more wolf than man. You were right."

Luna felt the pull again-something ancient thrumming beneath her skin, calling to the same force in him. "If you hate me so much," she said quietly, "why did you save me?"

Kael leaned in until his breath brushed her cheek. "Because no matter what you did, I still hear your heartbeat when I close my eyes."

For a moment, the world narrowed to the space between them. Then he straightened, the mask sliding back over his face.

"Rest," he ordered. "Tomorrow we find out who cursed you-and why the moon still recognizes you as mine."

He turned to leave.

"Kael," she said, surprising herself.

He stopped at the doorway.

"I'm not your enemy."

"Then remember," he murmured without looking back, "before the next full moon forces you to choose which side you're on."

The door sealed shut behind him. Outside, thunder rolled across the city, and Luna realized the storm inside her had only just begun.