His Moonsilver Mate (Abby and Kade) novel Chapter 21

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1:09 pm

Chapter 21

Ride

Sloane woke just before dawn.

Daphne had kept her overnight at the clinic after the warriors brought her in from the western woods.

I had helped get her onto the stretcher. Stayed long enough to make sure she was conscious. Then I had left her

to the healers.

Her injuries were painful, but not serious. Bruised ribs. A split lip. A cut near her temple. A shoulder Daphne suspected was badly strained but not dislocated.

The rogue had hurt her.

That much was obvious.

Everything else was less clear.

I stood near the window when she opened her eyes.

For a few seconds, she looked confused.

Then she saw me.

“Kade.”

I straightened.

“Hey.”

Her eyes moved around the room.

“Where am I?”

“The clinic.”

Memory returned slowly.

Her hand moved toward her ribs, and she winced.

“The rogue.”

“Yes.”

Her gaze snapped back to mine.

“You found me.”

Something softened in her face.

of my life.

1:09 pm

For one brief second, she looked like the Sloane I had known for years.

Just Sloane.

My friend.

The woman who had stood beside me through some of the worst years

That history did not disappear because everything else had changed.

But it did not mean we could go backward.

She tried to sit up.

“Don’t.”

I moved toward the bed automatically, then stopped before touching her.

Sloane noticed.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not.”

“I’ve had worse.”

The faintest smile touched her mouth, then disappeared,

“Did you catch him?”

“No.”

Fear entered her eyes.

Real fear.

Or convincing enough that I could no longer tell the difference.

“He got away?”

“Yes.”

She looked toward the door.

“How many people know?”

“Enough.”

Her fingers tightened around the blanket.

I pulled the chair closer and sat.

V

1:09 pm

What happened?”

Sloane looked at me.

“What do you mean?”

“Start from when you saw him.”

She hesitated.

Only briefly.

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“So you went into the woods.”

She nodded.

“I needed air.”

“At that hour?”

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

“Am I being interrogated?”

“I’m asking what happened to you.’

She looked away.

“I went toward the western trails.”

“Why there?”

“I don’t know.”

Too fast.

I waited.

Sloane sighed.

“Because that’s where Abby was found. Because I kept thinking about it.”

I said nothing.

“I saw someone moving between the trees.”

“The rogue.”

“I didn’t know at first.”

“And you followed him alone?”

“I didn’t exactly planit.”

“You could have linked me.”

“I thought I would lose him.”

The same reason she had given us before when she claimed to have followed the hooded man.

I filed it away.

“What happened when you caught up?”

“He recognized me.”

“How?”

“He saw me at the cave.”

That made sense.

Sloane touched her split lip and winced.

“He started talking.”

“About what?”

Her eyes met mine.

“Abby.”

Knox lifted his head instantly.

I went still.

“He saw how you reacted when you found her.”

“What else?”

“He said people might pay for information about her.”

The Rogue King.

The missing she-wolves.

The rumors about someone searching for a pale wolf whose fur shone silver under moonlight.

Maybe the rogue had been bluffing.

D

1:09 pm

< Chapter 21

Maybe he had only wanted to frighten her

I could not assume that.

“What exactly did he say?”

Sloane’s voice dropped.

“That he knew people who might be interested in a girl an Alpha was willing to kill for.”

Knox growled.

I forced him down.

“Then what?”

“I told him to stay away from her. But he kept provoking me.”

“About Abby?”

“About everything.” Her mouth tightened. “You. Me. Her.”

I waited.

Sloane swallowed.

“I lost my temper.”

“You attacked him.”

She nodded.

“And he fought back.”

Her hand moved to her ribs.

“He was stronger than I expected.”

Silence settled between us.

Then some of the anger left her face.

“What if he comes back?”

“He won’t get near you. I’ll increase patrols around the clinic and your house.”

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1:09 pm

W

“Kade.”

What?”

“Don’t leave.”

She looked frightened.

“I don’t want to be alone.”

For years, that request would have been enough.

I would have sat beside her.

Held her hand.

Stayed until she slept.

Maybe more.

Now I couldn’t.

“I can have one of the guards stay outside.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.”

Her eyes filled.

“Kade, please.”

I looked at her.

She was hurt.

Scared.

And still someone I cared about.

But caring was no longer the same as belonging to her.

“Sloane.”

She heard it in my voice.

Her face hardened before I continued.

“No.”

“We need to be clear.”

1:09 pm

already know what you’re going to say.”

“Then let me say it anyway.”

She shook her head.

“You came when I called.”

“Of course I did.”

The relief she had shown when she woke disappeared.

“So none of that means anything.”

“It means I care whether you’re safe.”

“But not whether I’m with you.”

I didn’t answer.

I didn’t need to.

Her eyes searched my face.

Then understanding came.

“Abby.”

She laughed bitterly.

“Of course.”

“This isn’t about-”

“Don’t.”

She pushed herself higher against the pillows despite the pain.

“You rejected her. You chose me. You announced me in front of Tiernan. And now what?”

Her voice cracked.

“She gets everything?”

“No.”

Sloane stared at me.

“No?”

1:09 pm

“Abby hasn’t chosen anything.”-

Something flickered across her face.

Hope.

I hated that I had given it to her, even for a second.

“So she isn’t your mate?”

“I reopened my side of the bond.”

Sloane went still.

“What?”

“It doesn’t make the bond mutual.”

She stared at me.

“You accepted her.”

“Yes.”

“And you’re going to make her Luna.”

“No.”

She blinked.

“What?”

“I’m not announcing anything.”

“Why not?”

“Because Abby hasn’t accepted me.”

Her expression twisted.

“She doesn’t have to. You’re Alpha.”

I looked at her.

“Yes, she does.”

Silence.

Sloane’s eyes narrowed.

“So you’re just going to wait for an eighteen-year-old girl to decide whether you get a Luna?”

The uld irritation rose inside me.

I let it pass.

“What happens between Abby and me is between Abby and me.”

“And what about me?”

I held her gaze.

“We’re over.”

She looked like I had struck her.

“You already said that. Why say it again?”

“Because I don’t want there to be any confusion because I came when you called.”