Page 27 of Moonlight & Mayhem

“No,” she whispered.

“Of us.” Moon didn’t answer, and Mayhem sighed. “I meant what I said.”

“So did I,” she said.

“I’m not completing a bond that could hurt you,” he breathed.

“And I’m not watching you die because you decided protecting me means making every decision for me,” Moon spat.

“Then we have a problem,” he said.

“Seems that we do,” she agreed.

“Good.”

Moon frowned. “Good?”

“Means we have something to argue about after we survive.” Despite herself, she smiled.

The clinic door opened again, and Chris walked in carrying chairs. Behind her came three more Dark Chaos members, followed by Tempest. “Move the equipment cart,” Chris ordered. “We’re having church.”

Mayhem looked around. “In here?”

Chris dropped a chair. “You deaf?”

“Usually only when someone tells me what to do,” Mayhem joked.

“That explains a lot,” Chris said. Moon hid her smile.

Tempest dragged another chair into the room. “You two done?”

Chris looked innocent. “I haven’t started.” Something about the exchange warmed Moon. She had spent so much time worrying about the danger coming for them that she had almost forgotten what Dark Chaos actually meant. It wasn’t the clubhouse, or the patch. It wasn’t even the wolf inside each of them. It was this—women who walked into your clinic when the world was trying to kill you and rearranged the furniture because there was no fucking way they were letting you face it alone.

Within minutes, Moon’s clinic had become an unofficial church room. Tempest stood at the center, and Chris took her place at her right. Moon noticed it because she always did. Prez and VP. They were such different women with different kinds of strength, but together, they were the spine of Dark Chaos.

Howler returned with Chrome, and Mayhem shifted beside Moon. Chrome looked at him and shook his head. “You look like shit.”

“Thanks,” Mayhem grumbled.

“You're welcome,” Chrome said.

Tempest slammed her palm against the counter. “Enough.” Silence filled the room. “This isn't an official church because Silverfang is here,” Tempest said. “But whatever is happening affects both clubs, so we figure it out together.”

Chris leaned against the wall. “Start with what we know.” Tempest nodded toward Moon, and she hated being the center of attention. She especially hated it when everyone in the room looked at her simultaneously. Mayhem squeezed her hand, and she almost pulled away. Instead, she let him hold it.

“The substance in Mayhem’s blood reacts to his wolf,” she began. “When he shifts, it spreads faster. When he’s near me, it slows.”

Chrome frowned. “Why?”

“Mate bond,” Mayhem said. Moon shot him a look. “What?” he asked, feigning innocence.

“You were taking too long to answer,” Mayhem said.

Chris muttered something that sounded like, “Men.”

Moon continued. “My grandmother’s journal describes an old group called the Hollow Pack. They experimented with mate bonds. According to what I've read, they believed a carrier could be infected with something that would eventually transfer through the bond into the carrier’s mate.”

“How?” Chris asked.