The Crystal Moon Curse: Book 5: TAKEN

Chapter 12. Decisions

VIGGO

I can only watch as Udyr pulls Quilla into his massive arms. Costas grabs mine as Kyros bristles his fur through my skin in objection.

If you cannot contain Kyros you need to leave, it will do you no good if you lose control. Costas links me and I grunt with the effort it takes to hold back my infuriated lycan.

"I'm so sorry Kyra." Udyr chokes as he hugs her tight. Quilla's responding sob echoes through the tavern as she cries into his barrel chest.

Udyr's brother glares and walks toward me.

"This is your doing." he bares his teeth at me. "You marked her without her consent. What kind of fucking mate are you?"

I lunge out of Costas's grip and have the stupid bear by his throat and bent backward over the bar before he can blink.

The air fills with the scent of his blood as my claws nick his skin and chaos breaks out.

Behind me Quilla screams, and bears and lycans begin to shift, fur and teeth breaking skin, but the three male bears are vastly outnumbered by my dozen lycans.

"Clam the fuck down!" Udyr bellows at his bears, fear in his eyes and Quilla shoved protectively behind his large frame. Costas does likewise to our lycans who obediently settle under their Gamma's order.

Goddess knows if they are let loose there will be nothing left standing in this town, bear or humankind. Udyr is sensible enough to know this.

"Let my brother go." Udyr demands of me, but it's the fear in Quilla's eyes that make me relax my grip on the bear's throat.

Low rumbles of discontent simmer through the room as I glare into the eyes of the bear in my grasp.

"You don't get to question me after your family kept Quilla hidden from us. Don't even fucking pretend you didn't know wolves were searching for the missing Luna Queen, everyone fucking knew." With a disgusted growl, I slide him across the bar back towards his clan and he stumbles into his son's arms.

"Is that true?" Quilla's pain-filled voice breaks through my deadly intentions.

I turn to see her staring up a Udyr.

He glares at me over her head.

"We didn't think it was Kyra."

Sebastian steps through the rumble of lycans and bears to stand behind Quilla facing Udyr.

"You didn't think when you found a three-year-old wolf-pup, that she was the missing pup every wolf was looking for? We sent word out through every means possible. King Viktor made it clear she was the future Luna Queen. There was a reward that could have bought you a thousand taverns." Sebastian waves his hand in frustration around the old ale house.

Udyr snarls at him in response.

"I don't need your fucking money, and there was no way in hell I would have turned her over to your kind after the state I found her in."

His eyes turn back to me, with raw hate burning in them.

"He was a lycan like you. She didn't even speak until she was five. That is what your kind did to her."

Beside him, I see Quilla freeze. She stands firm and tries to hide the effect Udyr's words have on her but terror seeps through her scent and I feel it burning in the center of my chest.

Udry is too caught up in his argument with Sebastian to realize what is happening.

"Quilla, are you okay?" I ask.