Chapter 7
The sight of those five stars had ruined everything. Everything. How could she have been so blinded as to give her body over willingly to a strange wolf? And not a strange wolf after all, but a wolf who turned out to be part of the pack her family had hated and fought for a century.
Racing through the night, Misti hurried toward her father’s place. Red Nightwalkers. They were all the wolves she ever needed.
Still, her body ached in places she wanted to blush over. Every stride tightened her core, and she could still feel where his kisses and hands had touched her body, as if he had left invisible brands on her. Well, not all were invisible. In his bathroom mirror, she’d spied several dark hickeys. Passion marks, lover’s bites. Her hand went to her neck, rubbing it.
No. Lust was wrong and had landed her into the arms of her enemy. Maybe it would be better to forget this night ever happened.
But could she ever forget the way he made her feel? Probably not. The way she had felt at his betrayal, though, would be enough of a cold shower for any lustful thought she might be weak enough to contemplate.
Accursed Shadowed Stars. A long time ago, a Shadowed Star and a Red Nightwalker had fallen in love with the same woman. They fought over her, naturally, several times over a few years. Their families got involved, joining the fight. One particular battle, a duel in fact, resulted in the death of not only the two would-be suitors of the woman but the woman as well. Ever since, bad blood had been spilled throughout the years. The trio had originally been buried together in one grave high up on the mountain, but the Shadowed Stars had dug it up and claimed their kin’s bones and that of the woman’s. Of course, the Red Nightwalkers had to retaliate by stealing her bones back, and bloodshed had resulted then as well.
Love. Lust. Neither is any good.
Having left the border of the city, Misti hesitated. She hadn’t showered after they… their time together, and she had to smell of a strange wolf. Which would lead to questions. Accusations. Denials. Tempers were flared right now, and she could hardly be certain her father wouldn’t react poorly to learn about her disobedience just for sleeping with a wolf who wasn’t her husband. And if he should learn or even just guess that her sexual partner was a member of the Shadowed Stars, she’d be dead before the sun made her next appearance.
No. She couldn’t return home. Her indiscretion had cost her her home and her position in the pack.
Head low, she turned and hurried away in the opposite direction.
Time to start a new chapter.
But she could not look forward to it.