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Moonbound: The Mating Decree - Hot engsub fullepisode🌸
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00:00Blood moon. Stained glass. I sit on the wedding bed. The door slams. Two rogues stagger in. Fur half rotted.
00:08Mange weeping down their faces.
00:09Pretty thing. The first one, Rass. Lucian said play hard. I lift my eyes. Cold. Steady. No fear. You picked
00:16the wrong ride tonight.
00:17Three days earlier. Thornwood Manor. Rocky Mountains. Snow. Stone. A silver wolf's head carved over the hearth. I'm on my
00:25knees in front of the fireplace. Polishing an old hunting blade.
00:28Footsteps behind me. Selina. The alpha's back from the council. Bad news? He hasn't taken off his coat.
00:34I slide the blade home. I've hidden here for three years. Three years since the council put my name on
00:42the black list.
00:43And every bounty hunter started counting my teeth. A safe house. A kind family. A girl who calls me sister.
00:49I thought I was done.
00:50Outside a wolf howls. Long. Wrong. Announcement. And somewhere south. The moon turns the color of old blood. My wolf
01:02stirts. For the first time in months.
01:06Edmund walks into the great hall with snow still melting in his beard. One night at the hollow. And his
01:12hair has gone white at the temples. Margaret stands.
01:15Edmund. I named them.
01:17Alara freezes by the fire. I stood on the council floor. And I named Blackridge. Every girl they've taken.
01:23Hooves outside. Hard. Fast. The doors blow open. A council courier. Black cloak. Silver pin. Sets a sealed rotor on
01:32the table.
01:33Mating decree. By order of the high council. Edmund breaks the seal. Reads. His hand starts to shake.
01:39Father. What does it say?
01:41You are bound to Lucian Blackwood. Seven days. Blood moon.
01:45Alara's knees go. Margaret catches her.
01:48She just had her first shift, Edmund. You told the council what he does to women.
01:53I know.
01:54Then do something!
01:55Refuse and the pack is skinless by sunrise.
01:58Alara is crying without sound.
02:01I stand in the shadow of the archway. Silent. My wolf. Quiet for three years. Stirs beneath my skin.
02:08Then I speak before anyone can see me. I'll take her place and marry him.
02:12The words cut through the air like steel. She doesn't have to go. No hesitation. No tremor.
02:22My hand closes around the silver comb hidden in my apron. Fingers tightening until it hurts. I say.
02:29Voice steady. I will go in her place. I will fulfill the decree. Silence.
02:34I turn to Alara. I'll go in your place. She stares.
02:39You're a maid. I'm whatever your father says I am.
02:42Edmund. Margaret. Both of them heard. Edmund says.
02:45Selina. Do you understand what you're offering?
02:49Yes.
02:50He will not be gentle.
02:53I'm counting on it. His hand flies to her mouth.
02:56Edmund holds my eyes a long moment.
03:00Then he turns and pushes open a door I've never seen open before.
03:09The Hall of Blood Oaths.
03:11He cuts his palm over the bound book of the Thornwood Line.
03:15Red drops onto my name written new.
03:20From this hour, you are blood of my blood. Bone of my bone. Daughter of Thornwood.
03:31Selina.
03:32He looks up. The pages drink the blood.
03:34Margaret lays a silver comb, a moonstone, and the family hunting knife into my hands.
03:39Alara sobs into my shoulder.
03:40My hand on her back is steady as carved stone.
03:43Tires squeak outside. Doors slam.
03:46Edmund's head comes up.
03:48He's here. Already?
03:49The front doors blow open downstairs.
03:52Where's my bride?
03:53Lucien Blackridge.
03:54Amber eye.
03:55Grey blue eye. Cold smile.
03:56Four men behind him. Drunk and grinning.
03:58I walk down. Slow. Hands folded.
04:01Lucien's eyes find me. Slide. Land.
04:03There you are, sweetheart. Heard you were pretty. Looks like they fed you wrong.
04:09I stop three steps above him. Tilt my head.
04:13Lord Blackbridge. His tongue runs over his teeth.
04:18Come give your husband a kiss. My fiancé.
04:26The hall of blood oaths is still wet behind me. They said you were charming.
04:34I tilt my head. I see they meant loud. His grin slips half an inch.
04:44Careful, sweetheart.
04:49You were the one shouting from the foyer.
04:52A few of his men stop laughing. He crosses to me. Close. Closer. Bourbon and something sour.
04:59Like fear under cologne. My wolf flinches at the smell of him.
05:03Nothing. He smells like nothing. No inner wolf. I file it away.
05:07He lifts a strand of my hair. Rolls it between his fingers. Like he's pricing it.
05:13You know what happens to brides who talk back in my house, sweetheart?
05:20Enlighten me.
05:21They learn.
05:23He leans to my ear. Low.
05:25I've got brothers waiting for the wedding night. Real friendly boys. They love a new bride. Especially the ones who
05:33think they're clever.
05:36I'm sure they do.
05:38You should be afraid.
05:39I turn my head until my mouth is at his jaw. Smile.
05:44Try harder.
05:46For one second, Lucian Black Turd doesn't know what to do with his face.
05:50He laughs too loud. Drops my hair. Steps back.
05:55Seven days, Thornwood.
05:56He snaps his fingers at his men.
05:58Burn the dress she's wearing. I'll pick out the next one myself.
06:04The doors slam behind him.
06:06Edmund is shaking on the landing.
06:08I don't turn around.
06:10He didn't deny the wedding night?
06:12No.
06:13Good.
06:14Dawn. White bannets. Snow on every pine.
06:17I stand on the send-off stone in a moon pale gown. The silver comb pressed flat in my hair.
06:20Behind me, Thornwood. Across the courtyard, the Black Ridge Convoy.
06:23Black SUVs. Black furs. Lucian lounging against the lead car like he's bored.
06:26Edmund mounts the stone beside me. He draws his ceremonial blade.
06:29Opens his own palm. Margaret makes a small sound. Doesn't stop him.
06:32Blood beads. Drops. Pisses on the cold stone. His voice carries across every alpha and beta.
06:37By Luna's breath and my own blood, I swear this oath.
06:40He lifts the bleeding hand to the moon.
06:42If a single hair on my daughter's head is harmed, if she weeps once in that house,
06:47Thornwood will not petition the council.
06:48We will come for Blackroke with teeth! And we will not stop until the line is finished.
06:54Wind moves through the pines. The pack representatives lower their heads.
06:57The oath has been heard. Lucian's smirk thins.
06:59Edmund turns to me. Quietly.
07:01Come home. Whatever it takes. Come home.
07:03I will. I step down. Cross the snow. Past Lucian, who reaches for my arm.
07:06I let him take it without looking at him. I climb into the car. The window darkens.
07:10Lucian slides in beside me. Bourbon and that nothing smell.
07:13Smile, sweetheart. You're a married woman.
07:15Am I, my lord?
07:17Tonight, you will be. Enjoy the wedding day.
07:20The wheels crunch over white snow. I turn my face to the window. Through the tint, the blood moon is
07:24rising again.
07:25Fat. Red. Watching.
07:29Blackbring Manon. Stained glass. Blood moon bleeding red across the floor.
07:33I sit at the wedding bed. Veil down. The moonstone at my throat catches the red light.
07:36The door slams open. Lucian. Bourbon soaked. Two rogues behind him.
07:40Fur weeping mage. Eyes hungry.
07:42There she is.
07:43He crosses the room. Grabs my jaw. Tilts my face up.
07:47My pretty little thornwood bride.
07:49Take your hand off me.
07:51In 30 minutes, the guests come up to see how the wedding's going.
07:53His grin widens.
07:56They're gonna find my new wife rolling around with two of my favorite strays.
07:59Won't that be a story?
08:02Have fun, sweetheart.
08:03He lets go of my jaw.
08:05Walks out. At the door. His hand on the lash.
08:07His fingers tremble. Just once.
08:09So fast a normal wolf would miss it. My silver bright eyes catch it.
08:12The bolt drops. Iron on iron. Like a funeral bell. The rogues lick their teeth.
08:16Pretty thing. Lucian said play hard.
08:19I lift my eyes. Cold. Steady. No fear. You picked the wrong bride tonight.
08:23Then stop talking and start regretting it.
08:27The first rogue takes a step.
08:29He told us you'd cry. Said the Thornwood girls always cry.
08:33Did he?
08:34Said you'd beg.
08:35You sound experienced.
08:36Lord Lucian's been generous.
08:38He lickes his lip.
08:39Three alpha's daughters last winter. Sweetest little.
08:43Generous. I stand.
08:44The silver comb slides from my hair into my palm.
08:46Six inches. Silver tipped. Bright as a claw.
08:48The rogues stop laughing. I move.
08:50I'm airborne before the first rogue gets his hand up. Thighs around his neck.
08:53Twist. Crack. Drop. Pivot.
08:55The second hasn't drawn his nade.
08:57Silver tip drives up under his jaw and out the back of his skull.
09:00Two bodies on the floor. Silence.
09:01I wipe the comb on a dead man's collar. Slide it back into my hair.
09:08Crack the window.
09:10Outside the cold pond glints under the blood moon as I throw them in.
09:14One after the other. No hesitation. No sound but the splash.
09:19I return to the bed. Smooth my skirt. Sit.
09:22Down the hall. The guests are still laughing.
09:24And then, I hear footsteps turning toward my door.
09:28Downstairs, Lucien nods at a maid. She gasps loud enough to carry.
09:34There's a man in the bride's room!
09:36Heads turn. Forks freeze.
09:39What?
09:40A man, my lord. Voices. I heard-
09:43Lucien stands. Draws his blade. Loud enough for the cheap seats.
09:47My bride. In my house. On my wedding night.
09:52Murmurs. He swings the blade.
09:55I'm gonna gut whatever rat she dragged into my bed.
09:58And then her. In front of every pack on the west coast.
10:03The crowd surges up the stairs behind him.
10:06He plants his boot on the door.
10:08Kicks. The door cracks open.
10:09I sit at the edge of the bed. Veil neatly back.
10:12I look up. Mild. Puzzled.
10:13My lord. You're shouting.
10:15His blade lowers an inch.
10:18Where is he?
10:19Where is who?
10:22Don't-
10:22It's my wedding night.
10:23My voice carries. Sweet as honey.
10:25And you've brought half the west coast into my bedroom with their swords drawn?
10:29I tilt my head.
10:30Is this how Blackridge throws a wedding?
10:33Someone in the back of the crowd snorts.
10:34Then a room of Alphodes trying not to laugh.
10:37Lucien's face goes white. Then red.
10:39His hand comes up.
10:41He breaks his son across the face.
10:45Lucien hits the floor. Mouth bleeding.
10:48His hand is still raised. Lucien is on the floor. Mouth bleeding. The room goes silent.
10:53On your feet.
10:54Lucien scrambles up.
10:56Out.
10:57Father.
10:58Out.
10:59He goes.
11:00Vivian troth hands over her mouth.
11:02My son drinks too much on his wedding night.
11:05Forgive him.
11:07Forgive us.
11:08And forgive a father's request.
11:10Nothing of what you saw leaves this house.
11:13Out of respect for the council. And the council's brother.
11:15The crowd thins. Cassius turns to me.
11:18I have not moved.
11:19He sits beside me on the bed. Casual. Like an uncle.
11:21Selina. You're a clever girl.
11:23Voice for my ears only.
11:24That father of yours. Edmund.
11:26He's an old wolf.
11:27Old wolves get tired.
11:28Old wolves misstep.
11:30A pause.
11:30Old wolves die.
11:32I need his eyes.
11:32That sounds like a threat my lord.
11:34Good. Then you'll recognize it.
11:35When it arrives.
11:37Morning.
11:38The doors bang open without a knock.
11:40Mrs. Hollands.
11:41Sixty.
11:42Grey.
11:42Skinny as a switch.
11:43The old beta of Blackbridge house.
11:45Three big she-wolves at her heels.
11:47Switches of white birch in their hands.
11:49Up.
11:50Eyes down.
11:52Throat out.
11:53I'm at the window with a cup of tea.
11:54Excuse me?
11:55Every new mate submits to the house Luna's beta on the morning after the bite.
11:59You drop your eyes.
12:01You bare your throat.
12:02You take the mark of this pack.
12:04She holds up a silver tipped queer.
12:06Or this beta puts it on you.
12:08Pass.
12:09Her lip curls.
12:10The lady sent me.
12:11Vivian says you'll learn your rank in this house.
12:14Mrs. Hollands.
12:15Or you'll be taught.
12:18She reaches for my wrist.
12:21I catch her index finger.
12:23Bend.
12:25Snap.
12:27The scream cracks every window in the room.
12:31The other she-wolves freeze.
12:32Birch switches clatter to the floor.
12:35Not one of them moves to her beta.
12:37They smell it.
12:38Whatever just stood up in this room outranks them.
12:41And their wolves know it before their heads do.
12:44I set my teacup down.
12:46Stand.
12:47Tell your Luna I don't bare my throat.
12:49Not in this house.
12:51Not in any house.
12:53One finger for one bad morning.
12:54I lean in.
12:55Send Vivian next time.
12:57I have nine left.
12:58Maeve appears in the doorway.
13:00Eyes wide.
13:01Pack a bag.
13:01I say.
13:02We're leaving.
13:03My lady.
13:04I step over the birch switch on my way out.
13:06In the front drive, one of the Blackridge drivers is already waiting.
13:10Engine running.
13:11Door open.
13:12He doesn't meet my eyes.
13:13My lady.
13:14The mountain roads ice over fast this time of year.
13:16Let me take you down myself.
13:17I nod.
13:18I get in the car.
13:20He shuts the door behind me.
13:22Tires crunch over gravel.
13:24The Blackridge gates roll past in the side mirror.
13:27Mrs. Hollins is still howling somewhere back there.
13:30I lean back against the leather.
13:32Cold smile.
13:33Maeve opened.
13:34Steps back fast.
13:36Sir.
13:36Lady.
13:37Edmund.
13:37Margaret.
13:38Snow on their shoulders.
13:39We're coming home.
13:41Right now.
13:42Selina.
13:43We had rogues in your room.
13:44We heard.
13:44Who told you?
13:45One of their maids found the bed empty.
13:47Ran to us.
13:48Then Lucien doesn't know yet.
13:50Selina, that's enough.
13:51You're done in that house.
13:53Father, I pour him a bourbon.
13:55Three days.
13:56Give me three days.
13:57For what?
13:58For Cassius to make a mistake.
14:00Margaret's knuckles go white in her lap.
14:03You'd risk.
14:04He told me you were going to die.
14:06In my ear.
14:07On the wedding bed.
14:08He's already coming for you.
14:10Going home doesn't save anyone.
14:12Selene.
14:12Edmund's face goes still.
14:14Three days, father.
14:15If I'm wrong, you've lost three nights of sleep.
14:17Edmund drinks.
14:18Sets the glass down.
14:19What do you need from us?
14:20Stay home.
14:21Don't take meetings.
14:22Don't sign anything.
14:22Don't even take a walk past the property line.
14:24Done.
14:24Margaret kisses my forehead.
14:26You'd better come back to us for your safety, Selina.
14:29I will.
14:29The door clicks shut.
14:30I cross to the window.
14:32Seattle below.
14:33Somewhere up in the Black Pines, the Black Ridge estate.
14:35Three days, Cassilus.
14:37I let the silence stretch.
14:38We'll find out it breaks first.
14:40Midnight.
14:41I drop over the Black Ridge perimeter wall between two suite patterns.
14:44Forty seconds to the cedar line.
14:46Two minutes to the main house.
14:47Master suite first.
14:48I crouch under the bay window.
14:50Cracked open an inch.
14:51Cassius likes his air cold.
14:53Vivian's voice.
14:54And Edmund, you said you'd handle it.
14:55I am.
14:56Three council alphas are signing this week.
14:58Embozzlement.
14:59A human girl found in his forester's cabin.
15:01Witnesses we own.
15:02He's been clean for forty years.
15:04He'll be dirty by Friday.
15:05And our boy?
15:06What about him?
15:07His condition.
15:08If anyone in that house smells it on him.
15:10Then we make sure nobody in that house can.
15:13A glass sets down.
15:14Silence.
15:15I move.
15:16I slip the latch.
15:18In cedar.
15:19Gun oil.
15:20A wall of leather spines.
15:22Two forged letters.
15:23Volkov seal.
15:24Not close enough for forensics.
15:26One behind the painting.
15:27One inside the desk bible.
15:30Out the window.
15:31Over the wall.
15:32Blood moons past its peak.
15:34Friday Cassius?
15:35No.
15:36A beat.
15:37You don't get till Friday.
15:38Thornwood Manor.
15:40Snow coming sideways.
15:45Boots on snow.
15:46Long grey coat.
15:48Amper eyes.
15:49The gate guard steps in front of him.
15:51Sir.
15:51This is private property.
15:53I'm here to see my aunt.
15:54Uh, the lady isn't taking.
15:55Tell her Kyle's home.
15:56The guards changes.
15:57Mr. Thornwield.
15:58Aye, sir.
15:59Please come in.
16:00Inside.
16:00By the great hearth.
16:02Edmund crosses the room slow.
16:03Ten years.
16:04I know.
16:05Your father's chair is still there.
16:07A long beat.
16:08Edmund doesn't move to embrace him.
16:10Kyle doesn't expect it.
16:11Why now?
16:12You named Blackridge on the council floor.
16:14My father's killer was at that table when you spoke.
16:17I saw him on the live feed.
16:18He didn't blink.
16:21Ten years I waited for him to blink.
16:23He didn't.
16:24Until you said Blackridge.
16:26Edmund's jaw tightens.
16:28You think Cassius.
16:29I know Cassius.
16:30I came to prove it.
16:32Margaret appears in the doorway.
16:33You stayed away too long.
16:35I'm here now.
16:36Edmund pours three bourbons.
16:39You should meet your cousin.
16:40My cousin's twenty.
16:41Not that one.
16:42The new one.
16:43Kyle's eyebrow lifts a quarter inch.
16:45Tell me.
16:46Morning.
16:47Snow muffles the Thornwood drive.
16:48I step into the front hall.
16:50He's by the hearth.
16:50Back to me.
16:51He turns.
16:52Amber eyes.
16:52Tall.
16:53Quiet.
16:53The kind of quiet that's been earned somewhere ugly.
16:56My wolf stops.
16:57Lies down.
16:57I haven't felt her lie down since I was a cub.
16:59We don't move.
17:00Edmund clears his throat.
17:01Selina.
17:02My nephew Kyle.
17:03Kyle my daughter.
17:04Daughter.
17:04Kyle's mouth lifts at one corner.
17:06When was the wedding?
17:07Last week.
17:08Congratulations.
17:08Don't.
17:09His smile widens a fraction.
17:11He crosses to me.
17:11No rush.
17:12Stops in my space.
17:13Wolf close.
17:14The kind of close you only get with kin.
17:16You're carrying a kin kill.
17:17I don't answer.
17:17Back of the neck.
17:18Right side.
17:19The vertebra under your wolf's jaw.
17:20I don't answer.
17:21He lifts a hand.
17:22Slow.
17:23Telegraphed.
17:23May I?
17:23I say nothing.
17:24His thumb presses.
17:25Exact.
17:26Into the knot of fire that's been burning behind my skull since the wedding night.
17:29The pain drops.
17:30I exhale before I can stop myself.
17:32How did you know?
17:33Lucky guess.
17:34Try again.
17:34He meets my eyes.
17:35I'll tell you when you tell me your real name.
17:38He steps back.
17:39Bows his head a quarter inch.
17:40Walks past me.
17:41The fire stays gone.
17:43Edmund is watching us like a man watching weather come in over a ridge.
17:46Kyle Thornfield.
17:47Note to self.
17:48Be careful.
17:49Thornwood cold pond.
17:50Ice on the edges.
17:51Cedar smoke from the house.
17:52Kyle's already there.
17:53Two glasses.
17:54A bottle of bourbon between them on the bench.
17:56You drink Woodward?
17:56I drink what's poured.
17:57He pours.
17:58Slides it over.
17:59I sit.
17:59Not close.
18:00Not far.
18:01You came back because of your father?
18:02His jaw tightens.
18:03Cassis killed him.
18:04That's a serious accusation.
18:06I'm getting proof.
18:07He looks at the ice.
18:08You're not just a maid, Selina.
18:09You move like someone who's been hunted.
18:11You smell like silver.
18:12His eyes find me.
18:13And there's a name on the council blacklist.
18:16With hair like yours.
18:17I sip again.
18:18You're not going to deny it.
18:19I'm not going to confirm it either.
18:20Fair.
18:21A long quiet.
18:22Cedar smoke.
18:23The pond ticking under the ice.
18:25I won't ask.
18:25Not tonight.
18:26Why?
18:26Because I'm asking you to trust me with something.
18:29And I haven't earned it yet.
18:30I look at him.
18:30His wolf is quiet.
18:31Mine is too.
18:32The Thornwood bell tower strikes twelve.
18:35He pours me another.
18:36Doesn't ask if I want it.
18:38Black Ridge estate.
18:39Night.
18:40I drop through Lucian's bedroom window between heartbeats.
18:43Empty room.
18:44Closet door cracked.
18:46Light behind it.
18:47Wrong color.
18:48Cold blue.
18:49I follow.
18:51The closet's a false back.
18:53Stairs.
18:54Down.
18:55Smell hits me halfway.
18:57Old blood.
18:58Silver salt.
18:59Fear sweat.
19:00My wolf.
19:01Flattens her ears.
19:02I keep going.
19:03The room opens at the bottom.
19:05I stop in the doorway.
19:07Silver hooks on the walls.
19:09Silver bands.
19:10Silver needles laid out on velvet like jewelry.
19:14Twelve women.
19:15Chained.
19:16Bare-shouldered.
19:17The silver collars are eating into their necks where the skin's gone thin.
19:21Wolf girls and human girls.
19:23Mixed.
19:24I count silk slips and one Daughter of Alpha tattoo I recognized from a missing persons brief
19:28two summers ago.
19:30Lucian's voice.
19:31Around the corner.
19:32Croning.
19:33I press myself flat to the wall.
19:35One of the girls sees me.
19:37Blue eyes.
19:38Hollowed out.
19:39She doesn't react.
19:41Doesn't hope.
19:42That's the worst part.
19:44She's been here long enough to know that anyone new is just another mouth.
19:48I lift one finger to my lips.
19:51She blinks once.
19:52Slow.
19:53I memorize the room.
19:55Door count.
19:56Light source.
19:57Hook spacing.
19:58Where I'd put a body if I needed to.
20:00Then I back out.
20:02My wolf is screaming behind my teeth.
20:05I climb back through the window.
20:08In the snow, I lean against the cedar wall and let myself shake.
20:12Once.
20:13Just once.
20:15I'm coming back for you.
20:17All of you.
20:21The Hollow.
20:22Council Chamber.
20:23Three Alpha Stand.
20:24Stone Faces.
20:25Show me the body.
20:26Cremated.
20:26Per Pact Protocol.
20:28Convenient.
20:28Aldric.
20:29The High Alpha.
20:30Lifts a hand.
20:31Edmund.
20:31These are witness charges.
20:33By his men.
20:34By Alphas of standing.
20:36You have 30 days to answer them.
20:38Until then, you do not leave Thornwood Land.
20:40I'm to be Cage Ward.
20:42You're to be cautious.
20:43Cassius lets one corner of his mouth move.
20:46Edmund stands.
20:47Vows the exact depth required.
20:49No more.
20:50Walks out.
20:51Thornwood.
20:52Late.
20:53Kyle pours.
20:54I drink without looking at him.
20:55They move fast.
20:56Faster than I thought.
20:57He's been planning this for months.
20:59He was planning it before the Decreet.
21:00The Decree's the cover.
21:02Cassius.
21:03Sweetheart.
21:04You think you're hunting an old wolf.
21:08You're not.
21:10Thornwood.
21:11Cold pond.
21:12Same bench.
21:14Snow falling soft.
21:16Kyle's already there.
21:18He stands when I come down the path.
21:20Old manners.
21:21The kind they don't teach anymore.
21:23And lifts a wolf skin off the bench.
21:25You're shivering.
21:26I'm not.
21:27He drapes it over my shoulders anyway.
21:29Gathers the front with one hand to second longer than he needs to.
21:33His wolf is quiet.
21:34Mine is too.
21:35I pour him a bourbon.
21:39Talk.
21:43He sits.
21:44I'm not a beta.
21:45I know.
21:45You don't.
21:46Edmund's hands shake around you.
21:47He never shook around a beta in his life.
21:49I was supposed to be alpha hair.
21:51After my father.
21:52He looks at the ice.
21:54I gave it up at seventeen.
21:56Told the pack I wasn't fit.
21:58Disappeared into a special recordnance unit and stayed gone for eight years.
22:01Why?
22:03Because the man who killed my father is on the High Council.
22:06And an heir can't move without being watched.
22:08Nobody can.
22:09And now you're back.
22:10The pond ticks.
22:12He turns the glass in his hand.
22:15Soft.
22:16Last time my wolf was this quiet.
22:18Was the night before they brought my father home.
22:21I don't answer.
22:23I sip my bourbon.
22:26Stare at the ice.
22:27He doesn't make me say anything.
22:30That's the part that scares me.
22:33Downtown Seattle.
22:342 PM.
22:35Daylight.
22:37A girl screams in an alley off Pike.
22:40Lucian has her by the wrist.
22:41Human.
22:42College age.
22:43White knuckled.
22:44I step between them.
22:45Let her go.
22:45You.
22:46Let her go Lucian.
22:47His eyes find the cross of her wrist in his grip.
22:50He smiles slow.
22:51Make miss me sweetheart.
22:53The silver whip comes off his belt fast.
22:55Faster than a normal arm.
22:57I read it.
22:59Step inside.
23:00Catch his elbow on the upswing.
23:02But the tip clips the edge of my coat.
23:04And I feel the hiss of silver across my collarbone before I twist away.
23:08A hand catches the whip mid snap.
23:10Snaps it.
23:12Bourbon eyed.
23:12Lucian Blackridge.
23:14This woman bears the thornward mark.
23:17Loud enough for the street.
23:18Touch her again.
23:19Touch any woman in this city again.
23:21And I'll send your wolf back to Luna in pieces.
23:26Witnessed under sky.
23:27The street has stopped moving.
23:29A lunar oath.
23:30Sworn under open sky.
23:32Binding.
23:34Lucian's face drains.
23:39He turns.
23:41He runs.
23:42He runs.
23:42He runs.
23:43He runs.
23:43He runs.
23:43He runs.
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