Blood Moon Union

Chapter Eight

The silence in the house was suffocating.

It had been two days since the attack near the border of the pack land. Two days of stiff shoulders, averted gazes, and doors closed just a little too hard. Kai had taken to patrolling the borders at all hours, and Nia had buried herself in what was now her office—researching Reapers, curses, anything to ignore the way the bond between them ached like an untreated wound.

She was elbow-deep in spellbooks when the scream shattered the quiet.

Nia’s blood turned to ice.

Mateo. She knew instinctively.

She was out the door before she could think, sprinting toward the sound. Kai was already there, shifted, his massive wolf form crouched in front of his cousin—who was pinned to the ground by a thing with too many limbs and eyes that glowed like dying embers.

The creature’s claws were buried in Mateo’s shoulder, dark tendrils of smoke curling from the wounds. Poison.

Nia didn’t hesitate.

She threw out her hands, the spell ripping from her throat in the language older than blood. The air crackled, and a whip of violet fire lashed across the creature’s back. It shrieked, recoiling—

Kai struck.

His jaws closed around its neck, and this time, the creature burned, dissolving into ash under the combined force of tooth and magic.

Silence.

Then—

“Kai—” Mateo choked, his face gray.

Nia dropped to her knees beside him, pressing her palms to the wound. The poison pulsed beneath her fingers, wrong, a magic that stung like acid.

“Hold still,” she ordered.

Kai shifted back, his human face a mask of fury and fear. “Can you fix him?”

Nia didn’t answer. She was already chanting, pouring her magic into the wound, purging the venom drop by drop. Sweat beaded on her brow, her arms trembling with effort—

Then, warmth.

Kai’s hand on her shoulder, his grip tight.

And suddenly, his magic was there too, not fighting hers but weaving with it, the bond between them flaring bright as their combined power surged into Mateo.

The wound closed.

Mateo gasped, his color returning.

Nia swayed, exhaustion crashing over her—

Kai caught her before she could fall.

Their eyes locked.

No words. Just the weight of what had almost happened.

This was why they were bound.

Not just to break the curse.

To fight. Together.

The house was quiet again, but the air between them was different.

Kai watched Nia from across the kitchen as she poured herself a glass of water, her hands still faintly trembling from the magic she’d expended. Mateo was stable, resting in the guest room under the watchful eyes of the pack healer. The danger had passed—for now.

But the threat wasn’t gone.

And neither was she.

Nia set the glass down, her dark eyes lifting to meet his. There was no anger there now, just exhaustion, and something else—resolve.

"You saved him," Kai said, the words rough.

We saved him, he should have said. But old habits died hard.

Nia didn’t let it slide. "We did," she corrected, her voice steady. "Just like we stopped the Reaper. And the specter at the wedding." She exhaled, leaning against the counter. "Two attacks. Two times we ended them together."

Kai’s jaw tightened. She wasn’t wrong.

Every time they fought each other, the enemy gained ground. Every moment they wasted on blame and bitterness was a moment their real foe used to strike.

He crossed his arms. "So what are you saying?"

Nia met his gaze without flinching. "I’m saying we’re stuck with each other. And if we keep fighting, we’re just making it easier for whoever—or whatever—is behind this to pick us off one by one. You must have figured it out by now. How did you know to touch my shoulder?"

The truth of it settled between them, heavy and undeniable. He couldn't answer that question. But he'd just felt it within the bond. He just knew somehow.

Kai studied her—the stubborn set of her mouth, the fire in her eyes even now. She wasn’t backing down. And for the first time, he didn’t want her to.

"Truce, then," he said abruptly.

Nia blinked. "What?"

"Truce," he repeated, stepping forward. "We’re allies in this. We work together. No more fighting each other. At least not until the real enemy is dead."

A beat of silence.

Then, Nia nodded. "Truce."

She held out her hand.

Kai took it.

The moment their palms touched, a spark shot up his arm—not pain, but power, the bond between them flaring to life like a struck match. Nia’s breath hitched, her fingers tightening reflexively around his.

For a heartbeat, neither of them moved.

Then, slowly, Kai tightened his grip, sealing the deal.

The air hummed between them, charged with something deeper than magic.

Something dangerous.

Nia pulled her hand back first, clearing her throat. "So. Where do we start?"

Kai flexed his fingers, the ghost of her touch still burning.

"With the truth," he said. "And a plan."