The Crystal Moon Curse: Book 5: TAKEN

Chapter 8. Viggo

VIGGO

Twenty years.

That is how long I have waited for Quilla Kane.

I stare at the unconscious female in my arms, a stranger to me, and yet her existence and life have been inexorably linked with mine since the moment I scented her in her mother’s womb.

Blood drips from her neck soaking her shirt. I raise her in my arms to lick the deep wounds my canines made. My tongue burns as it glides over her skin, the iron in her blood setting off years-long want that has been simmering in my lycan.

I pull back with effort and watch in fascination as a dark red swirl begin to rise from under her skin, surfacing and curling until it disappears behind her ear.

My mark.

Pride swells inside me releasing in a low growl as I examine my unconscious mate.

I’ve spent a lifetime wondering what she looked like. I’ve dreamed of Quilla Kane as an ethereal angel, a temptress tormenting me with unfulfilled desire; the strangest creatures took her form in my terror-filled nightmares, but none prepared me for what I found when she stepped into the clearing.

A tiny she-wolf, who upended me with one whiff of her sweet, earthy saffron scent.

Every plan I had ever conceived of how I would handle our meeting crumbled with one look into her stunning green-gold eyes.

Touching her was my mistake. I should have known better. The raging lust one touch of her sof skin ignited within me was enough to make me do the one thing I had not intended to do.

I dismiss the pang of guilt. There is nothing I can do now. Marking Quilla was an inevitability.

Raising her higher and tighter in my arms I nuzzle her nape drawing her scent and marveling at how weightless this tiny female feels. I turn from the rustling in the woods and the angry bear growls heading my way.

My lycans will hold them off.

I have neither the time, the patience, nor the inclination to deal with the bear shifters who kept her hidden from me. She was never theirs and they should have long ago brought her back to her kind. They are fucking lucky Kyros didn’t tear through their clan and that fucking shit little town as he should have.

I pick up my pace, shifting as I run, the thick scent of bear surrounding my mate grates at me.

Fur, muscle, and bone reform as I run, not halting my steps as I shift, the strength and speed I gain in my lycan form moving us swiftly and out of bear territory. Even with my mate in my arms, the bears have no chance of catching me.

As I run, I shake my fur, depositing my scent over her to drown the irritating bear scent permeating the air around her. It’s an unnecessary action since her scent is already changing as my mark settles into her skin. I can already scent the undertones of my smoky hues gently blending into her irresistible warm saffron essence.

Burning lust simmers in my blood but I force myself to stay focused on the task at hand - to get out of bear territory and to get my mate home. My desires will be quenched when we get there and finally claim my mate fully.

The sound of thundering paws following in the distance greets my ears but I do not stop. Sebastian and Neo remain behind me unable to match my speed but determined not to lose us nonetheless. I block their angry pressing on my mind link.

I slow my pace only after we have exited bear territory and reach the border of Arden Valley pack. Alpha Bryce has much to answer for, more so his predecessor. How did they not realize there was a lone she-wolf living among the bear clan in a township not even twenty miles from his pack?