His Moonsilver Mate (Abby and Kade) novel Chapter 8

Chapter 8

h

Abby

Coming to the bonfire had been a bad idea.

I had known it the moment I agreed.

Liam’s warning from earlier kept replaying a my head.

They’re searching.

But Chloe had refused to let me spend another evening hiding inside her house, and somehow she had convinced me that one crowded bonfire near the lake was safer than sitting alone with my thoughts.

She had also tried to convince me that I needed different clothes, makeup, and something involving my hair.

I had won that argument.

Mostly.

Now I sat on a fallen log beside Noah, holding the same drink Chloe had handed me twenty minutes ago. I had barely touched it.

Noah, on the other hand, seemed determined to make terrible decisions for both of us.

“Watch this.”

He tossed a marshmallow into the air.

I already knew how this would end.

He tipped his head back and caught it in his mouth.

My eyebrows rose.

He grinned around it. “Impressed?”

“Deeply.”

He swallowed. “You sound jealous.”

-I smiled despite myself.

Across the fire, Chloe had abandoned us to dance with a group of wolves from our training circle. Someone had turned the music louder, and half the clearing seemed to be shouting over it.

For a little while, I almost relaxed.

Then Diana went still. The scent reached me a second later.

1J14..

1:03 pm

My fingers tightened around the bottle.

Kade stood across the clearing with Liam and Ryan. He wasn’t looking at me. Not at first. Then his gaze lifted.

Found mine.

Everything around me seemed to blur at the edges. Noah said something. I didn’t hear him.

Kade’s eyes stayed on mine. The bond was gone, I knew that. But my body still remembered him. Apparently that

was enough.

“Abby?”

I blinked.

Noah had turned toward me.

“What?”

He followed my gaze. Understanding crossed his face. “Oh.”

I looked down at my drink. “Don’t.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“Good.”

For once, he listened. Then his arm settled loosely around my shoulders. It was the kind of thing Noah had done a

hundred times before.

From across the clearing, Kade’s expression changed. His jaw tightened. Even at this distance, I saw it.

Diana stirred.

He doesn’t like that.

Not our problem.

Noah gave my shoulder a small squeeze. “You okay?”

“Yeah.”

I looked back across the clearing. Kade was still watching us. Then Liam said something to him. Kade’s face hardened. A moment later, he turned and walked away.

I stared after him longer than I should have. Relief came first. Then disappointment. I hated that part more.

Kade

1:03 pm

I got back to my room at the packhouse before I did something stupid.

I was still thinking about Noah’s arm around Abby.

It had been nothing. Probably. They had been friends for years. Noah touched her easily because he could.

Because he was allowed to.

I wasn’t.

That was the part Knox refused to understand.

Go back.

No.

He touched her.

She let him.

The answer only made him angrier.

I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it onto a chair before walking into the bathroom. Cold water helped for about three seconds.

I braced both hands against the sink and stared at my reflection.

Abby looked different tonight. She had spent most of the evening laughing, and none of it had anything to do with

That bothered me more than it should have.

I had wanted to cross that clearing. Wanted to pull Noah’s arm away from her and ask Abby why she was letting another male hold her when-

When what?

She was my mate?

Not anymore.

I had made sure of that. Abby had asked me to choose her, and I hadn’t. Then she had accepted my rejection.

I had lost the right to walk up to her because I didn’t like the way someone else was touching her.

I splashed more water over my face.

A knock sounded from the bedroom.

I grabbed a towel, dragged it over my face, then threw it around my shoulders as I crossed the room.

1:03 pm

Sloane stood outside.

I hadn’t expected her.

“Can I come in?”

I stepped aside. She walked past me and waited until I closed the door.

For a moment, neither of us spoke.

Then she said, “You’re still angry with me.”

“Yes.”

Her mouth tightened. “I apologized.”

“That doesn’t change what happened. You went to her house. You cornered her. Then you put your hands on her.”

“I shouldn’t have done it.” She looked at me. “But she told me something.”

My shoulders tightened.

“That you rejected her.”

Knox surged forward. I shut him down before he could do more than growl.

Sloane watched my face carefully. “So it’s true.”

“She accepted.”

Relief flickered in her expression.

I folded my arms. “Do you think that clears the path for you now?”

Her eyes narrowed. “Is that what you think I came here for?”

“I don’t know why you came.”

“I came because I need to know where I stand.”

“Sloane-”

“No.” She crossed the room toward me. “You told the council you intend to take a chosen mate.” She stopped in front of me. “But when everyone looked at me, you wouldn’t say my name.”

I looked away.

“Tell me what changed.”

Nothing.

Everything.

I had found Abby.

Rejected her.

And somehow that had made the future I had been so certain about feel less certain instead of more.

Sloane watched me. “Do you still want me?”

My gaze returned to hers. “That isn’t the question.”

“It is to me.”

Before I could answer, she put a hand against my chest. Then she pushed lightly. I let her guide me backward until the backs of my knees hit the bed. I sat.

Sloane stepped between my legs. “Kade.” Her voice had softened. “I’m not asking about fate. I’m asking about

us.”

She lowered herself onto my lap. My hands settled automatically at her waist. Sloane had been in my arms enough times that neither of us had to think about where to put our hands.

She looked into my eyes. “You promised the council you would name the woman you intend to choose.”

“Yes.”

“Is it me?”

Knox stirred. I ignored him.

Sloane’s fingers slid along the back of my neck. “If it is, then stop making me guess.”

I knew what she wanted.

Clarity.

Something solid after days of uncertainty.

I pulled her closer and kissed her.

She responded immediately. Her mouth opened beneath mine, and her hands slid into my hair.

I kissed her harder.

Trying not to think.