His Moonsilver Mate (Abby and Kade) novel Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Abby

That’s her?” The male voice reached me through the fog before I could open my eyes. “She looks

like any other girl.”

Something cold bit into my wrists when I tried to move. Pain spread through my shoulders and down one leg, while the side of my neck still burned from whatever they had injected into me.

Diana stirred faintly inside me.

Abby?

I’m okay.

Before I could reach for her again, fingers closed around my chin and turned my face toward the

light.

“Are you sure this is her?”

It was the same male voice, but there was no curiosity in it. If anything, he sounded disappointed.

“I’m sure,” another man answered. That voice sounded familiar.

I forced my eyes open.

At first, I saw only blurred shapes and a pale circle of moonlight across the stone floor. I blinked until the man crouched in front of me came into focus.

He had dark hair, hard features, and cold gray eyes fixed on my face. His fingers were still holding

my chin.

I jerked away from him and immediately regretted it when silver cut harder into my wrists.

Behind him stood an older woman with dark hair streaked heavily with silver. Two younger women waited near a long stone table covered with bottles, folded cloths, and metal instruments.

Then I saw the man from the tunnel near the wall.

My stomach dropped.

“Who are you?” My voice came out rough.

The dark-haired man straightened.

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Cold spread through my body.

stared at him. Something in my face must have changed, because one corner of his mouth lifted.

“You know.”

I looked past him at the circular room, the old symbols carved into the stone, and the shain the ceiling pouring moonlight onto the floor.

“Where am I?”

No one answered.

“What do you want from me?”

The Rogue King looked me over once more before turning toward the older woman. “That depends on whether she was right about you.”

The woman came closer. Unlike him, she didn’t look disappointed. Her eyes were fixed on me with an intensity that made my skin crawl.

“Let’s find out.” She turned toward her assistants. “Remove the restraints.”

The silver came off my wrists first, then the chain around my ankle.

Diana surged closer, but weakness dragged through both of us immediately. Hands closed around my arms and hauled me upright. My knees nearly buckled.

“Move,” she said.

They pushed me toward the center of the room, directly beneath the opening in the ceiling.

The woman watched me carefully. “Shift.”

I stared at her. “What?”

“You heard me.”

My stomach tightened.

There were too many people in the room.

The Rogue King stood near the edge of the moonlight with his arms folded. The rogue from the tunnel leaned against the wall beside him, looking entirely too entertained. The two assistants waited

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For one second, I considered refusing. Then I looked back at the silver restraints lying beside the hair and felt how weak Diana still was.

They would force me if I made them.

I turned my back instead. My fingers trembled badly enough that I missed the button or jeans twice. I pulled off my sweater and shirt, keeping my eyes fixed on the dark stone wall in front me.

Diana stayed close.

I’m here.

I swallowed.

I know.

My jeans followed.

The stone was freezing beneath my bare feet.

I wrapped my arms around myself for one brief second before closing my eyes and calling Diana forward.

The shift hurt almost immediately.

Wolfsbane still burned through my muscles. The silver had left my wrists aching, and whatever they had injected me with made every movement feel slow.

Bones changed reluctantly. My hands struck the stone and became paws.

When Diana finally stood beneath the moonlight, the room went completely silent.

Moonlight touched her back. Her pearl-gray fur changed almost instantly. Silver spread through it in a soft metallic sheen, growing brighter along her spine and shoulders until it looked as though the moonlight had sunk beneath every strand.

One of the assistants whispered something I couldn’t hear.

The older woman stepped closer. For the first time, her clinical calm cracked. Wonder moved across her face.

“She was right,” she whispered.

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The woman approached slowly and reached toward Diana’s shoulder. “Remarkable.”

ana backed away. A growl rolled through the chamber.

The Rogue King gave a quiet laugh. “At least she has some teeth.”

The woman barely acknowledged him. She looked toward the rogue. “Shift.”

My attention snapped toward him. Diana’s fear surged through me.

The woman glanced at the open ceiling. “The moon is strong enough. I want to see what happens under pressure.”

The rogue began stripping off his clothes. His shift was fast. A dark wolf took his place, much larger than Diana and heavier through the chest.

Diana lowered herself instinctively.

“Attack her.”

The wolf launched himself across the room.

Diana moved. For one exhilarating second, she was fast enough. She slipped sideways just before he reached her, and his claws scraped uselessly across the stone.

The older woman leaned forward.

Diana turned. Moonlight strengthened her. I felt the faint rush of it beneath the exhaustion.

The rogue attacked again. Diana avoided him a second time.

“Yes,” the woman murmured.

The third attack came faster. Diana tried to move. Her legs failed us. The rogue slammed into her side.

Pain exploded through my body as Diana flew across the chamber and struck the floor. For a moment, all I could see was white.

She tried to get up. Her front legs shook badly.

The rogue came again. Diana snarled and forced herself upright, but he hit her shoulder and drove her back to the floor. His teeth closed near her neck.

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Diana stayed where she was, sides heaving.

The excitement had disappeared from the Rogue King’s face. “This is what you’ve been searching for?”

The older woman crouched several feet away from Diana. “Her body is fighting the drugs, the silver, and the shift at the same time. She should barely be able to stand.”

He looked at Diana without much interest. “She’s weak.”

The woman rose. “Let the wolfsbane clear. Feed her. Give her enough time to recover.”

“How much?”

“A day. Perhaps two.”

His jaw tightened. “You told me I would know.”

“You will.”

There was certainty beneath her calm now.

Diana tried to rise again. Her legs folded beneath her. Then the shift broke. Pain tore through me as her body disappeared and mine returned without either of us choosing it.

A second later, I was lying naked on the stone, curled around my ribs and struggling to breathe.

The assistants moved immediately. They dragged a loose dress over my head. I barely had enough strength to help.

The older woman knelt beside me. Her fingers touched beneath my chin.

I jerked away.

She smiled. “There you are.”

Something metallic appeared in her hand.