Read Chasing a Wolf: Moonbound Series, Book Four for Free Online Page A

“She is not your concern,” he growled, his voice somewhere between fury and determination.
    He was claiming her?
    There hadn’t been a great rush of magick between them. Fate had not spoken in the sex tent. Perhaps there’d been a whisper of something, but Citlani had acted on her own. Hadn’t she? Or had Fate pushed her to the tent? Was Tomás meant to help her all along?
    Zolin’s eyes flared. “If she’s going to be your concern, you’re going to have to claim her.”
    A mate bond was so much more than a marriage. Sharing souls? She hadn’t planned on that. Ever.
    Citlani didn’t like to touch people, talk to people. Sex had been surprisingly pleasant, but with a mate bond, Tomás would know every deep dark emotion that she kept hidden.
    Her mother had taught her to keep everyone at arms length. It was the only way to be safe. Those were the words she heard the woman say every day for nearly thirty years.
    Marriage and linking herself to a man was unsafe.
    A mate bond made her vulnerable.

    T omás breathed through his unsettled , pounding pulse. The big stranger was still staring at him, but it was all he could do to keep the wolf leashed.
    “If she’s going to be your concern, you’re going to have to claim her,” Zolin said.
    Claim her?
    Holy shit. But…holy…shit.
    Whatever glass had been holding the emotions of the night at bay shattered with those words.
    This wasn’t a ceremony anymore. It wasn’t a game.
    This was a woman’s life. And his life. The mate bond was…
    Tomás reached for the words, but they wouldn’t come.
    He’d never been faced with a mate bond before. His father had been preparing him his whole life to recognize it, but he didn’t feel that magick rope in the sex tent. He had felt something . Intense attraction. Desire. Passion. But had it been magick?
    “I don’t want to be bonded.” Lani’s voice was strong and cut through Tomás’ thoughts like the thunk of a cleaver.
    “That settles that.” He crossed his arms and stepped in front of her, glaring at Zolin. “She doesn’t want to be bonded.”
    The big warrior looked around on the ground, kicking at dirt and rocks. The moon filtered his movements, making his anger look more surreal.
    Tomás moved back a step, putting out his arms. “Don’t worry, I won’t let him hurt you.” He turned slightly to catch her in his peripheral vision, and was surprised to see her edging away.
    “He’s not going to hurt me ,” she hissed.
    It took a moment for those words to settle in and Tomás found his wolf at the surface again when he caught her meaning. “You think he’ll hurt me?” He scoffed at the searching man. “Let him try. I’ve got brothers.”
    “So does he. And they’re bigger than he is.” Lani continued to take small steps to her right.
    “Where is my spear?” Zolin’s voice was almost a growl.
    Tomás whipped around to face Lani. Every time he saw her, he was almost speechless at her beauty, and the frame of her face with that dark hair, the amber eyes, the cut-glass cheekbones.
    God, she’s gorgeous .
    Wait. What was he just going to say? Was he still high? Fuck. He was still high, wasn’t he?
    With gentle hands, he took her by the shoulders. “Listen to me. I’ll fight him again if I have to. I’ve beaten him once. But he’s not going to lay another finger on you. And we’re going to find your mother. I promise you.”
    Her eyes went molten, like hot lava on a mountainside, and she cocked her head at him, almost in a question. “We?” Lani’s tone was low and hot, and she took the tiniest of steps toward him.
    “Yes. We.” Tomás tried to smile at her, but he just found himself staring into her eyes. They were familiar, like he’d been looking at them his whole life. Was this the magick? Was the passion he felt the magick, as well? Was that what made his blood heat to a burning blaze when he had his hands on her?
    “You’ll help me find my mother?”
    “I promised, didn’t I?”