Dark Moon Rising (The Revenant Book 2) by Kali Argent Read Free Book Online Page B

over from before the Purge, and a lone, rusted RV gleamed dully in the light from the lamp posts, covered in months of dirt and pollen.
    The weeds had taken over the landscape beds, sprouting through the dried mulch, and the once blue tiles that adorned the face of the building had faded to the color of sea foam. Cracked bricks, broken windows, vines that seemed to crawl over everything—no outsider would guess the place doubled as headquarters for a vicious pack of werewolves.
    Before entering the visitors’ center, Rhys released her and edged half a step to the side, creating distance between them. Thea let him go, aware of the endless problems their involvement could cause, and focused instead on her surroundings. The broken cash registers and empty service counters created an unnerving scene in the single fluorescent light. Vacant, glassy stares from numerous stuffed animals followed her progress from the shelves in the gift shop, sending an eerie shiver down her back.
    The exit doors hung open behind her, beckoning her to the street beyond the empty parking lot. The enforcers had already cleared the room, confident the rest of them would follow. They talked in loud, carrying voices, too absorbed in themselves to pay much attention to anyone or anything else. It would be easy, too easy. She could turn and run, keep running and not look back. Even without shifting, she was fast and damn smart. She just had to make it across the street, and she could lose them.
    Then she’d find Deke, gather reinforcements, and come back to wipe the pack from existence.
    “Don’t.” Strong fingers curled around her wrist, and Rhys jerked her forward, pushing her in front of him.
    “What?”
    “Don’t,” he repeated through clenched teeth, his jaw rigid. He spoke quietly, his voice barely audible over their muffled footsteps, but anger and disappointment saturated every word. “Don’t be so eager for death.”
    “We could make it. If we left right now, we could disappear before they even realized we’re gone.”
    He gave her a look of disbelief that somehow also bordered on condescending. “If you really believe that, you’re a fool. I didn’t take you for a fool, angel.”
    Twice now he’d called her that. Plenty of words could be used to describe her, but no one who knew her would ever compare her to an angel. “You don’t know anything about me.”
    “True, but I’d like to, and I can’t do that if you get yourself killed.”
    It was unfair, and she didn’t know what made her say it, but the words fell from her lips before she could stop them. “Why do you even care?”
    His gaze softened, and the muscles in his jaw relaxed as he led her through the exit on the other side of the welcome center and back out into the night. He didn’t answer her, though, and as the silence stretched on, she couldn’t take it anymore.
    “If Abby was right, and the pack plans to kill us, I’d rather die trying to escape than be slaughtered for their amusement.”
    “You aren’t going to die.”
    “And you call me the fool?” Thea deflated on a small sigh. “You can’t protect me here, Rhys. We both got dealt a shitty hand in this mess, but let it go.”
    A hint of the broken man she’d met in the clearing still lingered around his eyes, but now, Rhys spoke with purpose and determination. “I protect what’s mine, and make no mistake, you are mine, Thea Mendez.”
    She didn’t just hear his words, she felt them right down to her soul. It had been barely an hour since they’d met, but she could already sense the bond forming between them. The metaphysical strings that twined together, uniting them, drawing them closer, making them one. The longer they spent together, the harder it would be to walk away, but the mating bond wasn’t a mandate. She could still choose to leave and never look back. Free will couldn’t be overridden, not even by fate.
    Staring up at Rhys, feeling his warmth, his strong hand curled around her