Moon Broken

by H. D. Gordon

  A bit of hope flared inside me, but I extinguished it quickly.

  “Just let me go,” I whispered. “If you really want to make things right between us, take off this collar and set me free. That’s the only way.”

  Ryker blinked those big blue eyes at me. “But if I do, you’ll leave me… You’ll go back to him.”

  I only looked at him. He was right, and we both knew it.

  Ryker shook his head and wandered over to the door. “I brought you a present,” he said, “a show of good faith.”

  “I don’t want a Gods damned present—,” I began, but the words dried up in my throat.

  Ryker opened the door to the room, and Kalene walked in.

  30

  I almost didn’t recognize my old friend.

  She looked so different from the last time I’d seen her. As soon as I realized who she was, all the images of our last encounter flooded back to me.

  The Games and the arena, the Firedrake and the roar of the crowd. And, Kalene, having been drugged with Wolfsbane and foaming at the mouth, eager to tear out my throat.

  Kalene had been one of the first people I’d met upon arriving in Marisol, one of the first friends I’d made and eventually trusted. When I’d escaped The Games and made it to Mina, thoughts of her had haunted me almost as much as thoughts of Ryker.

  I’d been sure she was dead.

  But here she was. She was still as beautiful as ever, with her lovely brown skin and jet-black hair… but the mischief was gone from her gaze. Whereas before, the female had moved with a certain vigor, now she entered the room as if in a trance. Her full lips were not pulled up in their usual smile, her face wholly expressionless.

  She gave absolutely no reaction upon seeing me. She walked in carrying a pitcher of what I assumed was more wine and set it down on the top of the desk along with the others.

  Ryker cast me a hopeful glance before slipping out of the room. I barely noticed him go; my attention was so focused on the female before me.

  “Kalene?” I said.

  Kalene turned from the desk and looked at me. She said nothing.

  I approached her slowly, in the same cautious manner Ryker had tried to approach me. “Kalene?” I tried again. “Are you okay?”

  “You left,” she said.

  My chest tightened as I tried to breathe around the guilt that was attempting to choke me. I didn’t know what to say to this, so I said nothing.

  When the silence went on too long, I asked a question I was afraid to know the answer to. “What did they do to you?”

  Kalene sat on the bed, her movements stiff and her dark eyes dull. “Mekhi hung Oren and Ares from the trees on the beach,” she said lowly, more to herself than to me. “They left their bodies out so that the birds could pick their bones clean.”

  I felt sick. I tried to swallow and found myself gagging. Kalene only sat immobile on the bed, watching me. I wanted to go to her, to pull her into my arms and hug her, but I was afraid she would reject me.

  She got up and poured me another goblet of wine, bringing it over to me. “The Master said I should have you drink this,” she said.

  My brows furrowed. “I don’t want it.”

  Kalene’s dark eyes sparked with emotion for the first time since she’d entered the room. “If you don’t drink it,” she said in a voice so quiet I could barely hear her, “they will whip me again. So, please, drink the damn wine, Rook.”

  I took the goblet, looking at the burgundy liquid sloshing around inside. “What’s in it?” I asked.

  “Wine.”

  I met my old friend’s dark gaze. “What else is in it?”

  Kalene shrugged. “I don’t know. I do what I’m told.”

  With these words, I came to the awful realization that whatever Kalene had been through in my absence had finally managed to break her. Gone was the female with the spark and fire for life, with the roguish attitude and carefree ways. I was a broken thing myself, and as such, I recognized the condition undoubtedly.

  I’d been wrong before. Now I hated Ryker more than I ever had. Why would he think bringing Kalene here in this state would appease me? Perhaps he was as stupid as he was cruel.

  “Please,” Kalene repeated, gesturing to the goblet once more.

  I nodded, well aware that I’d likely been ingesting more than just wine. “Okay,” I said, and tipped the cup up to my mouth, gulping down the liquid until it was all gone.

  Ryker came by again not too much later.

  He was pleased to see that I had drunk all of the wine… but not so pleased with my continued resistance of his offer.

  When I once again refused to accept his bullshit apologies and ridiculous sob stories, he stormed out of the room in another rage, cursing about evil Mixbreeds and brainwashing. If the situation weren’t so terrible, his childish reaction might have been amusing.

  But the collar secured tightly around my neck managed to choke off any evil laughter I might have uttered. Seeing Ryker suffer was little consolation considering the reestablishment of my slavery.

  Ryker ordered Kalene to leave as well as he made his dramatic exit, only to return minutes later with another person.

  It had been long enough since I’d seen her that I couldn’t place how I knew the female for several moments. In fact, the realization of who she was didn’t hit me until Ryker started questioning her, talking about me as though I were not even in the room.

  “Why isn’t it working?” he asked her. “You assured me that it would work.”

  As the female studied me, how I knew her hit me. Her name was Madame Rama, and she was the one who’d painted my body in red swirls and flames before the Mid-Summer Solstice all those moon cycles ago.

  “Hmm,” she said. “Are you sure she drank all of it?”

  Ryker stalked over to the desk, where the empty pitchers and goblet sat.

  “Yes,” he said between tight teeth. “I watched her drink it. At least two cups of it, so why isn’t it working?”

  “Why isn’t what working?” I asked, and was thoroughly ignored.

  “Hmm,” Madame Rama said again, and took a step toward me. I let out a low growl at her approach. “Definitely not working,” she admitted.

  “Well, fix it,” Ryker snapped.

  “There must be something counteracting the magic,” she mumbled.

  “Stop talking about me like I’m not right here,” I growled.

  When she took a step toward me, I took a step back. Madame Rama’s eyes travelled from my feet to the top of my head slowly, and then back down again, coming to a stop at my breasts. I crossed my arms over my chest and angled myself away from her. By the time I realized what she was looking at, it was too late.

  “What’s that around your neck?” she asked, and made another move to reach me.

  I scooted to the side, baring my teeth at her. “You’ll lose that hand you bring it any closer,” I warned.

  But Ryker was peering over her shoulder, and he shoved past her to get to me. My pride was the only thing that kept me from cowering under the intensity of his stare and the aggressive nature of his movements. He was too fast and too big, and the room the three of us were standing in was too small for me to get away from him.

  I tried to shield myself, but he grabbed the silver chain around my neck and yanked hard enough that it snapped. When his hand retreated, the red pendant Adriel had given me dangled from his fingers, the magical one that had served to keep Ryker from my dreams.

  Adriel had also said the magic inside would protect me against the effects of any magic someone might try to use on me.

  “What is this?” Ryker asked, though the angry twist of his lips revealed that he had a pretty good idea about the answer to his own question.

  “Give it back,” I replied.

  Instead, Ryker handed it over to Madame Rama. She gave me a brief but sympathetic look before nodding her head and handing the necklace back to Ryker.

  “There’s powerful magic in that
amulet. That was likely the reason she’s been resisting,” Madame Rama said. “Have her drink more. It’ll probably work much better now.” She rubbed her hands together, clearly uncomfortable and eager to leave. “Will that be all, Master Ryker?” she asked.

  Ryker sneered at her. “It better work this time,” he warned, and then waved a hand in dismissal.

  Madame Rama bowed and scurried out of the room as fast as her legs could carry her. To her credit, she offered me a small, apologetic smile before she disappeared again behind that heavy door.

  When she was gone, and I was once again alone with Ryker, I could swear I felt the temperature in the room plummet ten degrees in an instant when he spoke his next words. His tone was as flat as a singer out of tune.

  “He gave this to you, didn’t he?”

  A wave of fear hit me as I watched Ryker. He hadn’t taken his eyes off the red amulet. It’s chain dangled from his clenched fist. Part of me wanted to scream that, yes, Adriel had given it to me and I damn well wanted it back.

  The other part insisted that this was not a very wise idea, that this confession would only lead me to pain… and Ryker to violence.

  Or maybe he was destined to end up there either way.

  “Answer me, Gods damn it!” he shouted, spittle flying from his lips as he thrust the red stone at my face. “Where did you get this?”

  My instincts overrode my rage, and I made a quick decision that I would feel guilty about later.

  If I made it to later.

  “The Mixbreed,” I said. “He made me wear it.”

  Ryker’s blue eyes narrowed as he absorbed this. Then, he dropped the amulet to the ground and stomped it beneath his boot.

  It took enormous effort not to cry out as I watched the red magical essence that used to swirl and churn within the stone escape beneath the crushing sole of his shoe and disseminate into nothing.

  Until Ryker had ripped it from my neck a few moments ago, I’d been unaware of just how much I’d been clinging to the strength and sense of protection the stone had provided. In the short time I’d been wearing it, I’d gotten used to its gentle pulse, to the aura of Adriel that it carried. Now that it was gone, the terror of my current situation rushed over me in a wave. I was trapped with a male that was now equally as powerful as he was volatile.

  And Ryker was watching me. Watching me closely.

  “The Mixbreed,” he repeated. “He made you wear it?”

  I nodded, feeling like a dirty little liar, but honestly too afraid to say otherwise. Afraid of how Ryker might react, of what he might do.

  “Okay,” Ryker said, and his eyes held me as he wandered over to the desk and filled the goblet with a fresh pitcher of wine. “Then drink this.”

  He shoved the goblet into my hands with enough force that some of the burgundy liquid sloshed over the edge and dripped onto the floor.

  I didn’t want to. More than anything, I didn’t want to drink whatever potion Ryker had made Madame Rama put in the wine. I didn’t want to know what kind of magic Adriel’s stone had been protecting me from for the past half day while I’d been drinking it.

  But one look at Ryker, at the way his wide shoulders were strung, the way the muscles of his jaws stood out, and the slightly crazed gleam behind his blue eyes, told me that denying this command would be a grave mistake.

  So I tipped the damn goblet up and drained the contents of the cup, feeling powerless in a way that only females in a world of entitled males would ever be able to fully understand.

  31

  The effect was immediate.

  I felt my head get lighter, my vision blur, and would have collapsed to the stone floor if Ryker had not caught me in his strong arms. His sun kissed face flashed with concern as he scooped me up and carried me over to the bed, setting me down atop it gently.

  For several moments, I could do little but stare up at the high ceiling and blink. I could feel whatever potion I’d just swallowed moving through my system.

  The world went black, and my mind went blank with it.

  When I awoke later, there was no telling how much time had passed. It could have been a few minutes or a few days and I wouldn’t have known the difference. In fact, it took a long moment of groggy blinking to even remember where I was.

  A glance around the room revealed Ryker. He was sitting in the chair over by the desk, sleeping. His face was relaxed, his eyes closed and his shoulders loose, and looking at him just then, I remembered how handsome he was.

  He must have sensed me stirring, because as I pulled myself to a sitting position, still watching him in that peaceful state, those captivating blue eyes sprang open. He blinked a few times and looked around, then at me.

  “Hi,” Ryker said, his voice gruff with sleep. He looked apprehensive, but I couldn’t remember at all why he should feel that way. “How do you feel?” he asked.

  I rolled my shoulders and neck and stretched my back. “Okay,” I said. “Kind of tired. What’s going on?”

  Ryker stood, his muscles stiff from sleep and maybe something else I was missing. He came over to the bed and sat down beside me. I didn’t try to stop him when he raised a hand slowly and tucked some of my dark hair behind my ear. In fact, I leaned into his touch.

  “You’re home,” he said, and smiled.

  I found myself smiling, too, wanting to move forward and bring the curves of our lips together, to remind myself of the taste of him. He saw me watching his mouth, and by the time my gaze made it up to his eyes, they were burning with a desire I felt in my bones. My stomach was fluttering, my heart picking up in pace.

  “Are you my home, Ryker?” I asked, and realized only as the words escaped me that I hoped he’d answer yes.

  His face was only inches away. All I had to do was lean forward and claim his mouth for my own. I bit my lip and waited.

  Ryker placed his strong and calloused hand in mine, and I watched as our fingers entwined. “Yes,” he whispered. “Yes, Rook. I am your home.”

  I could no longer stand the fire that was spreading through my midsection, the way my body was practically pulsing with need for him. I tried half-heartedly to recall what exactly had come before this, before this room and this bed with Ryker beside me… But it was murky, like an extremely vivid dream that can’t at all be recalled upon waking.

  When his hand released mine to grip my thigh, I was surprised at the moan that almost slipped out of me. I’d been a lustful little Wolf for as long as I’d been sexually active, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt a need quite like the one I did now. With Ryker this close, all I could smell was seaside and sunshine, and all I could hear was the rapid thudding of our hearts.

  He closed the distance between us with a fervor that matched my own. I arched into his touch, and Ryker laid me back slowly on the bed, pressing his heavy, strong body flush against mine. I did not resist when he parted my legs with his knees and settled between them. I only held him closer, tighter.

  Our tongues tangled together, and his hands slipped under my clothing to grip my breasts. I closed my eyes… And where my body was screaming at me to take it further, to shed the clothes between us, to throw him on his back and have my way with him… There was a small red flag waving in the back of my mind, insisting that I do otherwise.

  A scarlet flag.

  The color of…

  I couldn’t remember.

  But I stiffened beneath Ryker, and he pulled back from me, noticing my inactivity. His blue eyes flashed with something I couldn’t pinpoint.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, his tone carefully even.

  My brow furrowed. His hands were still on me, his body still heavy atop mine, and the hard length of him was insistently nudging my stomach. Ryker was so handsome, his eyes the kind of blue a girl could drown in. And I felt like I was drowning. I could breathe but… Something was wrong.

  That red flag.

  I could barely see it, but it was there, hidden in the back of my mind, beneath the clouds and shadow
s, waving ever so gently in a non-existent wind.

  “I don’t feel well,” I said. It was not exactly a lie.

  Ryker’s eyes narrowed a little. His hand retreated from beneath the fabric of my dress, and he placed the back of it to my forehead. “You don’t feel warm,” he said, but he retreated, anyway, removing himself from atop me to sit beside me on the bed.

  My hands got the strong urge to grip his shirtfront and drag him back toward me, my lips lost without the taste of his, my stomach warm with a need for him to fill me… But my mind insisted that I slow down here, as if there was something I was missing. Something important. Something, maybe, that had to do with the color red.

  “I think I might be sick,” I said. This was a lie, and I felt guilty about it. Terrible actually. I didn’t want to lie to Ryker. I was pretty sure I loved him, and when you really loved someone, you didn’t lie to them.

  At least, that’s how I thought it worked.

  “I’ll summon a healer at once,” Ryker said, moving over to the door and barking orders to a Hound standing out in the hall.

  “Thank you,” I said, offering him a smile from where I still lay over on the bed.

  He really was so very beautiful.

  Ryker poured something that smelled like wine into a goblet and brought it over to me. He sat on the bed beside me and handed me the cup. “This might make you feel better,” he said. “Have some.”

  I sat up and sipped some of the sweet liquid. It was delicious, so I sipped it again until it was all gone. Once it was down, I did actually feel a little better. I told Ryker as much and thanked him.

  “I will always protect you, Rook,” he said. “I will never let anyone hurt you again.”

  Gods help me, but I believed him. I really did. It was exactly what I wanted.

  Wasn’t it?

  It was just… The red flag. I couldn’t pinpoint why it bothered me so much. What did it mean? Why did I only feel more confused when I tried to focus on it?

  Ryker bent down and kissed me, deeply and slowly, and all thoughts of red flags and confusion left my mind.