All Chapters of The Moon's Dark Embrace: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Tatiana, the sour faced school nurse, discharges me the next day on the condition that I don’t do anything too hard on my ribs until the dark magic has a chance to take full effect. That’s fine by me; I’ll be happy if I never have to see another werebear again.I guess it’s almost inevitable that Atlas is on my mind as I walk out of the infirmary, and a part of me is glad not to have seen him because I can’t be this obsessed, or he is going to know from one look at my face. I’ve never been good at hiding my emotions, not ever, and I doubt it would be much different this time. If the Master was really telling the truth, then he spent more than twenty-four hours at my bedside. Is he really that invested in my well-being? He said in the forest that his concern wasn’t about his reputation, so if it wasn’t, then…I come to an abrupt stop in the empty corridor, my heart leaping in my chest. Atlas is leaning against the wall outside the infirmary, his head bowed, and his arms crossed. For a

If we had to travel on foot, we would have taken forever to reach the Blood Moon Pack, situated thousands of miles away. As it stands, however, Atlas has dark magic at his disposal, which he puts to good use, creating another one of those levitating platforms, just like the one Charles used to save my life. Unencumbered by the pull of gravity, we zoom over the treetops, scouting for any telltale signs of either werewolves or werebears. He’s standing behind me with his arms wrapped protectively around me, and despite the height and speed. I cling to him, trying to ignore the butterflies in my stomach. When we finally descend into a meadow northeast of the Academy hours later, I’m half-relieved and half-disappointed.If you’d told me a few weeks ago that I would ever be feeling this way in relation to Atlas, I would’ve called you crazy.“Come on,” Atlas says, letting go of me and immediately shifting into his wolf form. “We’re close; I have the scent already.”“You know I’ll never be

We stumble into his tent, breathless, so caught up in the moment that nothing else seems to matter. The second kiss has lit a fire in both of us, and only our frantic touches are enough to put it out. It was never like this—all the other times I came close to going further with a male lacked the frantic passion that suffuses me and Atlas. It’s like all the unspoken words, all the tension that’s been brewing between us since our first meeting, is coming to a head, and this time there’s no resisting it.Atlas continues to kiss me, his movements hungry and passionate as his arms snake around me and pull me flush against his body. I reach up, tangling my hands in his hair as his tongue brushes against my lips, his hips pressing against mine. I can feel his arousal through his jeans, and it sends a wave of heat through my lower body that settles between my legs. “I’ve wanted you for so long,” he murmurs against my lips, one hand playing at the hem of my shirt. “I’m done pretending this i

My heart jumps into my throat, and I whirl around just in time for Atlas to take my hand in his. Around us, the carnage is undeniable. Wounded werewolves are scattered everywhere, some still shifted and some not. It’s a clear illustration of just how fucked we are as a species going up against the werebears, and that’s with my light magic and Atlas’ dark magic on our side.For a brief moment, I wonder if it’s all going to start up again, but then the werebears start to retreat, tearing off into the forest with a speed belied by their size. I start to move in the direction of the blood trail, but Atlas pulls back on my hand, still breathing hard from his near-miss. “Don’t,” he pants. “They’re gone. It’s over.”“Damn right, it’s over,” comes a familiar voice, and I turn to see Cassandra stalking over to us, her hands clenched at her sides. “What the fuck did you do?”“What did we do?” I exclaim, rounding on her. “What the fuck did you do? We could have been preparing for an attack durin

Come on, come on, come on.I could almost cry with relief when the fifth key I try finally slides home. The lock clicks, I push the door open, and the next moment, I’m standing inside the shed, the door dropping shut behind me.I barely have time to register my surroundings before a hand is closing around my throat, another striking me squarely in the nose and making me cry out in pain. I collapse to the floor in a heap, my eyes watering as I take in the sight of a redheaded werebear in human form towering over me. “Who the fuck are you?” he demands, already winding up for another kick.“H-hiker,” I stammer, mind racing as I wipe the blood from my nose. “I’ve been backpacking up the coast, but I got off the trail.” Licking my lips, I glance behind him. There, crumpled up in the corner, is Grant. He’s groaning in pain, blood seeping from his wound, but to my astonishment, the gash seems to have been dressed. His eyes go wide with recognition when they land on me, and for a moment, I’m