Black Moon (Colors of the Moon #4)

Chapter 6

Two hours and twenty-seven minutes after Hunter had been escorted out of the throne room, I was still pacing up and down our shared room. And because I had listened to him this morning, we still hadn't marked each other. This meant I had no way of contacting him.

He's not, Edria said for the hundred and fifth time. There's been a mistake.

"It was a mistake," I repeated her words, hoping that saying it aloud would somehow make it go away. "How can you be so calm? Aren't you supposed to be his friend?"

I stopped at the foot of the king-sized bed and pinched my lips at Ren's figure sprawled over both sides of the bed. She had her arms folded behind her head and her eyes closed, which made her look like she was caught in a peaceful slumber. The only thing that ruined the effect was the rapid rhythm of her breaths.

"I'm not calm." Despite her words, her voice sounded like a tranquil melody. "I just know Hunter. He would never work with human scumbags."

She's right, Edria nodded her wolf head. This has to be a mistake.

"How can you be sure?" I dug my fingers into my hair and went back to measuring the length of the room with my restless steps. "The Alpha King said he has proof. That he only needs to find out how many other Black Moon members are in on it."

"He's not the Moon Goddess. He can be wrong, too."

"But what if." Despite both Ren and Edria's conviction, the dark thoughts wouldn't allow me to stop wondering what if... "What if it wasn't a mistake? What if Hunter is working with hunters?"

"Then I'm going to kill him for doing something so stupid."

"You won't lay a finger on our mate." Edria's growl vibrated through my throat, however, before she could say anything else I reeled her back in. "Sorry. We're both on edge right now."

"Already possessive? Good." The tinniest of smiles tugged at the corner of Ren's lips. "He deserves a good mate."

After another heartbeat I went back to my pacing, however, this time it lasted for only three minutes. Then the last shred of my patience snapped. They were taking too long.

"I can't do this anymore." I stopped in the middle of the room. "I need to see Hunter. Right now."

"Finally." Ren snapped her eyes open and jumped into a standing position. "Let's go."

"What? Aren't you supposed to try to talk me out of doing anything rash? It's, after all, the reason why Blake asked you to stay with me in the first place."

"I've been itching to hunt Hunter down from the moment Blake mind-linked me about what was going on." Ren rolled her eyes.

"Then why—"

"Because of Blake and the stupid mate bond. He'll be pissed if I'm the one to suggest finding Hunter, but he'll be more lenient if you're the one who suggested it. I just followed to keep you safe."

What kind of logic is that? Edria tilted her wolf head to the side.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go."

I shook my head and resigned myself to never understand what kind of bizarre thought process Ren worked with.

Without wasting another moment, we exited the room and entered the empty hallway. Edria expected to find warriors stationed outside to make sure we wouldn't leave our room. However, there wasn't a single sign of anything living in our proximity.

I dashed down the length of the hallway to the nearest turning and peeked around the corner to make sure the coast was clear. When I glanced back at Ren to motion for her to follow me, I found her strutting down the middle of the hallway. Her every step echoed through the empty space, making Edria sink her canines into her tongue to keep herself from lashing out.