The Cursed Luna

Bargain

Cage

Sonofabitch.

I’ve been standing, watching from the window, studying Cara from the moment the raging Alpha thought it was okay to try and strangle my grandmother and drag Cara across the room to make her pay. It’s a norm around this area. Alpha doesn’t get what he wants, and he takes something else from an Omega. Yeah, it’s the f*****g circle of life. But today, that bullshit has frustration pinching across my brow. Especially as it involves my grandma as well.

So, I asked Sloane to fix the problem. I don’t order kills on just anyone, but when it comes to a bastard in my way, I believe in cutting straight through to get what I want. In this case, Cara.

“Cage,” she repeats my name as though I hadn’t heard her the first time. The little Omega stands with shock on her gorgeous face, those amber eyes almost alight, her full lips parted, and I can’t help but wonder what they would taste like. Her scent mingles with the smell of fire in the room. I could easily let myself fall prey to the girl with a heart-shaped face and eyes of fire. They glance down my body and back up, her fascination in me clear.

Since meeting Cara, she’s captivated my thoughts beyond the normal lustful ones. There’s something about her I can’t quite put my finger on, and it’s not the cascade of hair the color of ravens running perfectly down to her waist, or how much I can’t stop watching the rise and fall of her chest.

My insides tighten each time I see the vulnerability in her expression and in those big doe eyes. It’s like the whole world has done so wrong by her that she’s already accepted things will be f****d up until the end.

How long has it been since I cared about why an Omega was upset? Years?

It doesn’t stop me from admiring the curve of her porcelain white throat that dips down to her breasts pushing up against her laced-up bodice with each rushed breath, or the way her black pants hug her ass and thighs. f**k, I’d prefer her bare and wrapped around me. Whatever it is about her, she has me enamored beyond the usual second glance I give Omegas as potential ruts.

“Welcome, Cage,” Grandma greets me, her eyes shining. “Perfect timing.”

I nod in answer, my eyes fixed on Cara. “Hello, sweetheart. I’m here to collect your part of the deal.”

She steps forward like my words alone connect to her with an invisible cord. “So, you found my sisters?” The eagerness in her voice has me drawing in a sharp breath, my mind whirling with the truth I know she’ll not accept well.

“Walk with me and we can talk.”

Her nose wrinkles, and she squares her shoulders. “No, tell me now. Did you find my sisters or not? It’s not a hard question.” There’s sharpness in her voice, but I hear the brittleness beneath the words.

“We will talk in private,” I repeat.

She stares at me incredulously, then at my three men and to the lump of a wolf shifter by the smashed-up wall. Her brow furrows.

“What’s going on, Cage? Who are the men with you? And why did you kill Correy? s**t, what if we get in trouble with the Sheriff for murder?”

“Aaron won’t do shit.” She’s grown braver since I last saw her weeks ago, which is rather refreshing in a world where most females are timid and fall to their knees to obey Alphas. But she still fears Aaron. Most Alphas did, though. Not me.

She glances over to the dead man.

“What is one less Alpha in this world?” I answer. “And these are my men, Sloane,”—I point to him behind her, then turn my attention to my left and right—“Donald, and Samson.”

Sloane steps around her, studying her like a vulture inspects his prey. The guy likes to taunt anyone he can, and it offers me great distraction. “We did you a favor.” He rubs his hand, decorated with rune-engraved rings, over his jawline and down his chin to his beard. “You ought to thank us.” He sweeps behind her and lifts a lock of her dark hair, drawing a quick inhale.

“Yeah, right.” She swings away from him, her hair slipping from his grip, her glare promising retribution as she turns away from him.

“I can think of a few ways,” he continues, regardless. He is nothing if not persistent.

“Manners, Sloane,” Grandma warns, and Sloane chuckles.

Cara doesn’t tremble in his presence, which I admire, though it’s a foolish decision to turn her back on Sloane. But she must also know that while we have an unfinished deal, I won’t let anything happen to her. From the moment we struck a conversation in this very cottage weeks ago, after she listened in on me talking with the bartender about the deadly Woods of Evil, I suspected she was no ordinary Omega. No one enters that forest unless they want to die, but she offered me a chance to travel within the woods, and that I took seriously.

She slouches on one leg, turning her sneer from Sloane to me. “It’s a bad idea to kill Correy. Sheriff Aaron hates fights, but don’t let me stop you from getting shot by him. Be my guest.”

“Cage, did you hear that? She’s worried about us.” He places a hand to his chest, feigning shock, and Samson next to me chuckles. “Can we keep her? She’s so adorable,” Sloane coos, while my other sentinel by my side, Donald, groans. Then again, he is short of patience on many things.

“Cara, come with me,” I command. “My men will clean up this mess like it never happened.”

“Not until you tell me about my sisters.” She doesn’t move to join me, so I grab her by the arm and haul her outside into the main cottage, the door shutting behind us.

“Let me go,” she hisses, tugging against my hold, but I’m not ready to let her go just yet.

Alphas and Betas are in every direction in the cottage, most drunk, others with females in their laps, so no one pays us any attention.

A few quick steps and we’re outside in the afternoon sun, the wind stirring the dust on the path.

“Let me go.” Cara yanks her arm from me, her wry expression ready to skin me alive. “Did you find my sisters or not? Otherwise, give me back my brooch, and we’re done with you wasting my time.” She speaks so freely, like she’s never felt the command of an Alpha, but her voice shakes, and her gaze constantly scans the area around us.

I lean forward and retake her arm, drawing her to me so we stand a breath apart. She is so much shorter than me this close, the top of her head reaching my nose, and if it was anyone else speaking to me this way, their body would have been tossed into a river already. Except she has something I very much need. Magic. A wolf with magic intrigues me, as they are an oddity. Plus, I am rather fond of her scent, breathing it in, rousing my wolf, giving him something to crave.

I clear my throat and remind her, “You and I made a deal, and that means two things. One, I always keep my end of the bargain. Two, you signed yourself over to be under my protection until we finish our transaction. So until then, I can make your life hell, or we can pretend to get along. Up to you, but I’m sure you won’t be a problem, right?”

She stiffens against me, tugging her arm while giving a deadpan stare. “Where are my sisters?” she hisses, then twists free from my hold.

I lash out and snatch her wrist, then lift her gloved hand between us. “Is this where you keep your magic, wolf girl?”

Her eyes widen, and she rips free from my hold, coaxing a laugh out of me. There is something enigmatic about her, and the more we spar, the more I want to keep pushing and pushing her. I shouldn’t bother, but to say she doesn’t intrigue me would be a blatant lie.

“Seeing how you keep changing the topic, it tells me two things,” she counters with a smirk. “One, you failed at finding my sisters. Two, you’re hoping to distract me, as I must be an i***t who should be grateful for the scraps of your help.”

“Touché, little Omega, but let’s clarify a few things, shall we?” I reply in a calm and steady tone. I lift my attention to the cave across the road from the cottage, and she follows my gaze to the entrance of it. Leora stands in the distance, waving crazily. Next to her lingers one of my men, looking bored as s**t.