Resisting the Moon (Royal Shifters #2)(6)

Once he stopped kissing me, the spell broke and I could move away. Growling, I jerked my wrists out of his grasp and pushed him off as hard as I could. He grunted as his body hit the ground.

“What the f*ck are you doing?” I shouted, ripping the blindfold off. I jumped to my feet and glared at him. I wanted to hate him, but I couldn’t. It was a good thing I was great at acting.

Sebastian brushed the grass off of his pants and T-shirt. At first, he looked exactly like Micah, but it didn’t take long for me to realize he was wearing Micah’s clothing. Sebastian always wore top notch clothes and stayed perfectly kempt all day. Never was his hair in disarray like it was now. Taking in his appearance, I realized I liked it; I wanted to run my fingers through his messy hair. What the f*ck am I saying?

He held up his hands. “It was the only way I knew I could get you alone. Just don’t be mad at my brother.” Micah was lucky he was nowhere to be seen.

Huffing, I straightened my clothes, patience running thin. “Oh, I’m not worried about him. I’ll pay him back tomorrow. You, on the other hand, had no f*cking right. Aren’t you a little long in the tooth to enjoy playing games?”

Collecting himself, Sebastian stood and blew out a heavy sigh. “I’m not playing games, Tyla. I just needed you to see.”

“See what?” I shouted.

He stepped forward. “You’re my true mate. I just never acted upon it until now.”

I snorted. “You mean you were too busy f*cking around with other women to give me the time of day.” His eyes flashed but I held up my hand. “I don’t want to hear it, Sebastian. I get it, you’re a hot commodity, with women falling at your feet every step you take. So excuse me if I don’t follow suit. What I’m feeling right now is lust and nothing more. You’re not my mate . . . because I don’t want you to be.”

Eyes burning, I turned around and ran straight to my car. It was all lies, and my bluff was as thin as rice paper. My wolf wanted to be claimed by her mate; I just refused to give in. Knowing what happened to the men I fell in love with, I couldn’t go through it again. I’d made a vow and I was determined to keep it.



“What’s wrong?” Blake asked, coming up behind me.

Blake Evans was my boss and a friend of the Royal Pack, even though he had no clue we were wolves. He was an undercover cop and I was sure he’d be able to find out what we were if he had any suspicions. That was how good he was at figuring people out. I’d worked for his grandfather when he was alive and now that Blake took over the ranch, I worked for him.

“Earth to Tyla. You goin’ to answer me?”

I finished brushing down Blake’s horse, Nightshade, and wiped my eyes. My chest ached and I had no clue what I was going to do about it. “I’m fine.”

“Does it have to do with Sebastian? I heard it through the grapevine he got mighty pissed when he saw you with someone else.”

Gasping, I jerked around. “Who told you that?”

A small smile spread across his face. “I ran into Bailey at the grocery store this morning. I told her I was sorry I couldn’t be at the party last night.”

“And she just happened to tell you what was going on?”

He bit his lip. “Colin was with her. Of course, he was more than happy to let it slip.”

“Great,” I grumbled, turning back to Nightshade. “Can we please not talk about my love life?”

Laughing, he patted Nightshade’s backside. “Sure thing. I just wanted to make sure you were all right. I’d hate to have to kick some ass.”

“Thanks, boss. You know I can handle it though.” He might be exceptionally strong for a human, but he would never be able to handle a wolf.

Once I was done with Nightshade, it was time for me to go. I said my goodbyes and reluctantly headed home. I knew once the sun dipped behind the mountains, Colin would be showing up for our date; a midnight run to the lake. And everything would’ve been fine for our date if Sebastian hadn’t kissed me earlier. It’d changed everything; throwing my need to mate into high gear.

When I got to my house, I could sense Sebastian was near, but ignored it. Maybe if I ignored the signs they’d go away? Yeah, right.

Night came all too quickly, and of course, Colin showed up on time. When I answered the door, he smiled. “You ready?”

A blast of power swept over me; Sebastian was angry. I glanced up at Colin, but he didn’t seem to notice, only smiling wider. Okay, so maybe he did know and was eating it up. I was surprised neither of them had pissed on me yet.

“Let’s go,” I said, shutting the door behind me.

My house was hidden behind a mass of trees, making it easy to shift and run deep into the woods. He followed me around to the back, where we took off our clothes and draped them over the porch banister. Once he shifted into his massive white wolf, he took off into the woods.

I hung back, trying to sense where Sebastian was. He was gone; I couldn’t feel him anymore. Colin’s howl sounded off in the distance so I quickly shifted and raced after him. It felt good to run free.

We reached the lake and shifted back, the moon glowing across the water. Colin sat down on the ground and patted the space beside him. “Sit down with me.”

I sat down and kept my gaze on the lake, waiting for the moment I’d feel Sebastian’s power. Colin turned his body toward me. He’d been in the pack for a month but I’d never really spoken to him. “How do you like being in Wyoming?” I asked.