Moon Child (The Year of the Wolf #2) - Serena Akeroyd Page 0,47

bright green before returning to the more regular hue of human proportions. Nails morphed into claws with the speed of drawers opening and closing, going from soft, flat edges to sharp points that could hurt.

The sound of bones breaking was something I’d never forget as I watched his back arch, the shoulders round before they retracted, and there was a small boy standing there once more.

I truly couldn’t explain how the sight didn’t make me pass out, but only the lack of fear in the room from the men kept me contained.

They were my baseline, and their fear wasn’t for the boy. It was for my sister.

That was the only fear that didn’t belong to the child, a kid I knew was called Daniel, which resonated around the room.

They loved Sabina, that much was clear. In fact, they loved her with a ferocity that I didn’t think I’d ever come across before. I could say that with ease because a love this true, this powerful? Multiplied by three? Such a revelation. Such an intense, visceral thing to come across.

I’d never envied anyone anything.

It wasn’t in my nature.

I knew that if a girl was pretty, it came with the price of being treated differently by men—and not always in a positive way.

I knew that if a guy was great at playing the guitar, the reason for the rhythmic notes that he was capable of crafting together was a past that was shrouded in sorrow.

Everything that could be envied, came at a cost.

But for the first time in my life, I understood envy.

I understood it and recognized how lacking my own life had been for such a ferocious emotion.

It made me feel like my heart had been carved out of my chest and the emptiness inside was just waiting to be filled.

It was enough to take my breath away.

When the howls ceased, the bewildering, haunting notes that belonged in a Dracula movie disappearing with an abruptness that had me gulping, I watched as Eli strode from the window over to Daniel.

“You two stay here and guard Sabina,” Eli commanded.

He was the elder of my sister’s men, but there was a distinct blood tie between them all. I didn’t wonder if it was creepy for her to be sharing three brothers, it just felt right.

Natural.

Even if now I understood Austin’s joke about ‘brother husbands’ because that was exactly what they were.

That being said, there was nothing disturbing going on, but what there was, was a tying together of three separate distinct strands which were being braided into one entity. That braid was tied around her, shoring her up, defending her and protecting her from anything and anyone that could harm her.

Again, envy hit me.

To be so loved, to be so cherished, was a thing of absolute beauty, and knowing what she’d gone through, what had my mother in tears and deep in her cups every other night, I was glad for her.

Relieved.

If anyone deserved a break, it was her.

“I should come with you,” Ethan ground out.

“No. If the Rainford alpha wants to challenge me over Daniel, there’s nothing you can do. I’m more powerful than him. A challenge shouldn’t present a problem to me,” Eli stated, his tone assured, relaxed, as he placed a strong hand on Daniel’s shoulder. “Son, you need to calm down.”

Daniel reached for him, burrowing his face in Eli’s chest as he wrapped his arms tightly around Eli’s stomach. The move disarmed my sister’s mate, that much was clear, but it didn’t stop him from holding the boy tighter to him.

“I’ve kept you safe this long, haven’t I, Daniel? What makes you think I’m going to stop now?”

Daniel gulped. “I-I did something bad, Eli. Something stupid. I went to see my mom’s grave. That’s why he’s here. That’s how he knows about me.”

Eli’s eyes narrowed as he twisted slightly to glance at his brothers. I felt the braid around Sabina light up in a way that was startling, one that informed me they were sharing a method of communication that wasn’t open to me or to Daniel. It was unique to their bond.

It made her gleam gold, like the light of the sun gently illuminating her, and I saw her spirit, deep inside, the part that was beast as she rolled over, deep in this unnatural slumber.

The light of their communication had me reaching over to touch her ankle. When I connected with her, I realized why she still slept.

They were protecting her to the point of her being