Blood Moon Read Free Page B

painful experience she could ever have imagined. She drew a deep breath and looked away from him. Trying to keep the accusations out of her voice, she started again, “I thought you were dead.”
    A wry grin twisted his lips. “I’m not.”
    She crossed her arms, pulling in the power around her. “Haemon took me to see your body. You were covered in blood and that scar on your face was a fresh wound. I couldn’t detect any life in you.”
    “That’s because I was dead.”
    Aria frowned. “I’m afraid you’re going to have to explain things a little more clearly.”
    He sat back on his haunches, releasing the arms of the chair. “I’m not entirely sure what happened that day. I only know that I was no longer in this world, and just when I was headed off to the next, I was pulled back and returned to my body. I was in so much pain, I barely remember a silhouette over me and then I passed out. When I woke up again, I was in my father’s house.”
    The air in the room grew warmer. Slowly, she reigned in more of her power and regained some control over her wild emotions.
    “That’s where the scar came from. And the eyes, I would imagine.”
    He didn’t answer right away, and she could see he chose his words carefully. It seemed Lukas had turned his gaze inward to something beyond her reach—something she didn’t think she wanted to see.
    “Yes. When anyone dies and is brought back, they tend to return…transformed. Part of that was waking up with the freakish changes.” His lips sketched another smile, but pain and something else slightly disturbing flirted with the tense lines around his mouth. “Those have taken everyone, myself included, a long time to get used to.”
    Aria stared at the bricks over the fireplace. While she wanted to wrap her arms around him, doubt niggled the back of her mind. He must have known there’d be a chance she lived, but she squashed the joy ruthlessly. Why hadn’t he looked for her? “Freakish or not, I’m glad someone was there to help.”
    “So am I.”
    His hand hesitantly covered hers. “For what its worth, Aria, I did look for you. But by the time I was sane enough, there wasn’t much left to do.”
    “Sane enough?” The hoarse whisper that escaped her lips made her wince. Bad enough he could still read her face so easily. Even her voice couldn’t be trusted with him. 
    “When I woke, I went into a rage.” He lifted one shoulder and gave a rueful smile. She opened her mouth to ask what exactly that meant, but he shook his head. “According to Thaddeus and Aaron, that is the ultimate understatement. It wasn’t pretty. If I hadn’t been weak as a kitten, I might have done things I would have regretted forever.”
    “But they’re pack—” The taut lines of his shoulders and the frown on his lips told her to drop it. She clamped her mouth shut.
    “When I could finally get out of bed on my own, my Beta, Aaron, had already sent someone to determine if you were alive. They came back with information that you’d been killed. After that, I don’t really remember much.” He paused, searching the room as if the words he wanted would be written on the windows or walls. Finally, he sighed, picked up her hand and pressed it gently between his palms. “I went a little mad, I guess. Aaron ran the Pack while I lost myself. I stayed in wolf form for almost two months.”
    A small sound escaped her throat, and she bit her lip. While he might be keeping secrets, she believed him.
    “When I got myself under control, I sent out more inquiries, but received the same answer. There were rumors you had escaped, sightings even. I investigated them all. Each time, the lead dried up.” His hands squeezed hers. “Six months after that night, I had to stop. Haemon took over the territory near here, and he’s wanted my head since I attempted to steal you away. Keeping the Pack safe has been my life since.”
    Resignation covered his face. His story had torn down some of the