Dust clung to my fur as I dodged through the streets. Bits of broken stone slipped beneath my paws.
It was forbidden to shift in the Holy City without direct permission from the Moon Goddess herself.
I paused on a raised piece of a broken pillar and sniffed the air. Dust, smoke, and the smell of blood filled my nostrils. Nothing of Adele. Where was she? I’d know if she was dead… wouldn’t I?
My head swung this way and that. Finally, I spotted a medic’s tent some distance away, at the edge of the rubble. Maybe they would know where Adele was.
I bounded toward it, tucking my ears against my skull to make myself go faster.
Soon, I was at the tent. As I shifted back to human form, a familiar voice called out.
“Caspian!”
I whirled to find my mate coming toward me. I ran to her and pulled her into my arms. She laughed as I twirled her in a circle.
When I put her down, I kissed her deeply. My tongue slipped into her mouth, tangling in a dance of sheer delight.
It was only because people started to clear their throats around us that we pulled back.
Adele leaned into me, panting. Her cheeks were pink with a blush. “I’ve been trying to call you,” she said.
I tightened my arms around her. “Er… I guess I lost my phone when I shifted. I’m sorry. I was just so worried.”
“It’s fine. Let’s get you some clothes.” Adele found me a pair of shorts to pull on.
There wasn’t an extra shirt around, but the important bits were covered. The medics asked Adele for more help, and I fell in step behind her. Lots of wolves and half-breeds had broken bones and were bleeding. We helped to clean injuries and handed them food and water.
As we worked, Adele told me what had happened.
“The Moon Goddess was being particularly demanding today. I normally don’t see her, but she came to me personally and sent me to buy her new shoes,” Adele said.
Adele gave a young half-breed a bottle of water as she answered. “She said she knew I was Lyla’s friend, and she missed Lyla, so she sent me.”
“Strange.” I shook my head. But the Moon Goddess was lost now…
“The attack happened while I was out. I came back and started to help…” Adele shivered.
I hugged her. “It’s okay. We’re both okay. It’s going to all be okay.”
How, though? The Moon Goddess was dead… the basilica was destroyed… with everything going on, the werewolf world would be thrown into chaos. Who planned this attack? What was going to happen next?
We worked together for hours until Adele was falling over from exhaustion. I picked her up in my arms and carried her back home. She shivered incessantly, and it worried me. Was she getting sick, or were these nerves?
“What if they blame the half-breeds again?” she asked once we were home.
I winced. I hadn’t even thought of that. “They won’t. Mercer was the one who framed the half-breeds on the previous attempt on the Moon Goddess’s life.”
“The werewolves still hate half-breeds and witches.”
I opened my mouth, but my phone started to ding at that moment. I found it lying on the floor in the pile of clothes I had left behind when I went to look for Adele. I picked it up.
I answered the call, relief flooding through me. Even though I knew Lyla and Sebastian couldn’t be in the Holy City, I was still worried that Teresa hadn’t been able to contact them.
“Lyla,” I said.
“Caspian! Are you okay?”
I put the phone on speaker, gesturing for Adele to join me. “We are. Adele isn’t hurt. She wasn’t in the basilica during the attack.”
“Good,” Lyla said. She sounded extremely relieved. “I was so worried when I heard the news. Do you know who is behind the attack?”
“No,” I said.
There was a muffled sound somewhere on the other side of the phone. Lyla growled audibly. “I have to go. Take care of yourselves.”
“We will,” Adele promised.
As Caspian hung up the phone, he glanced up at me with a look of pure relief. I was still trembling from the fear of everything that had happened in the last few hours. I had friends who had gotten hurt, but luckily, so far, nobody I knew was dead.
Except for the Moon Goddess.
Caspian brushed his fingers against my cheek. His eyes looked deeply into mine. “Are you okay?”
There was no answer to that. I was physically okay, of course, but I felt so small and afraid of what would happen next. If I thought too much about that, I might fall apart.
Right now, though, I was okay. Caspian was okay. And there was only one thing I wanted to do.
I threw myself into his arms. My hands dug into his thick, silky hair as I kissed him. Our earlier kiss had been one of relief; this was pure passion.
“Adele,” Caspian panted into my neck. His hand pushed into my pants, finding my clit.
I gasped as he started to rub against it, heat and pleasure pooling in my core. Our tongues danced in each other’s mouths. My free hands moved over Caspian’s body, yanking off his clothes.
His strong muscles pulsed beneath my touch as his fingers kept working against my clit. I moaned into Caspian’s mouth, then gasped. He moved to my neck, kissing me fiercely. I wanted to be closer to him, to make love until neither of us had any strength left.
As my mate ripped open my shirt with one hand…
…a soft noise caught my attention.
I stiffened, grabbing Caspian’s arm. He stopped. One palm pressed into my breast, the other still in my pants.
We both glanced over to the source of the noise. My jaw dropped and my eyes widened.
“Don’t let me stop you,” said the intruder.
The Moon Goddess.
She was alive.
In our home.
