Page 69 of Unveil

Luna is my perfect opposite. She’s as reckless as I am vigilant, a city girl but freer than I’ll ever be. Left to her own devices, she’ll test her boundaries until she breaks, but as long as I’m there when she finds the sharp edges of this world, I’ll make sure she doesn’t get hurt. Once I claim her, I can give her the freedom she craves. With me, she’ll finally be safe to stretch her wings. She’ll fit right in as a Fury, as soon as I convince her to anyway.

“Why a crossbow, though?” she asks. “I’d think guns are a better gift for most hunters.”

“Aimers,” I correct, then shrug. “We have more guns than we’d ever need stocked in our armory, and every Fury gets a family dagger after completing Survival Week. I broke my ‘baby’s first crossbow’ running from a momma black bear on day one?—”

“Wait, wait, wait.” She wags her finger. “None of those words should go together. Explain ‘Survival Week’ first.”

“It’s a Fury rite of passage. When we’re sixteen, our parents blindfold us, drop us in the woods with a weapon and a prayer, and we have to last a week on our own before finding our way back.”

“Oh, so casual child abuse,” she snarls protectively, nearly making me preen.

I huff a laugh. “Not child abuse. Child abuse would be throwing a kid out here without teaching him how to survive first. By the time King was done drilling those skills into me, Survival Week was a cinch.”

She harrumphs, unconvinced as she plays with the ends of her hair. “There’s gotta be a better way.”

“Probably, but it’s the Fury way.” I smirk, then toss back some of her sass. “We’ll do it with our kids when they’re sixteen.”

She swings narrowed eyes on me. “The hell we will.”

“Ah, so youdowant kids with me.”

“Ugh.” She gives me a reprimanding look. “You tricked me.”

She lets her hair plop to her shoulder and crosses her arms under the water. “Point being, I’m not sending my kids into the woods to die. I’d rather keep my little hellions around, thank you very much.”

My chest thrums with the way this conversation is going, so I keep it rolling, wondering how far she’ll let me go.

“Don’t worry, I’ll teach them everything they need to know before we kick our little cygnets out of the nest.”

She frowns. “You’d have to teach the girls too, you know.”

A flare of protectiveness sparks through me. No way am I letting any of my girls be put in danger. But… she’s right.

“Deal,” I relent gruffly. “The more my family knows, the better.”

She seems to consider that as her gaze sweeps the woods before landing back on me.

“Would you teach me to live off the land?”

“You… want that?” Fuck, I love that question, but I can’t help pointing out the obvious. “That implies you’re sticking around.”

She huffs. “No.ItimpliesI’m bored as hell. All I did while you were gone today was twiddle my thumbs. If we’re stuck here, I want to know everything I can.”

“Hey, now, you did more than twiddle. It’s squeaky clean in that there cabin.”

She scowls. “Trust me, that was a one-time thing. I amnotcut out to be a housewife homebody.”

“Oh, I know.” My smile is soft. “You were born to fly, little bird.”

She hesitates, eyes dropping to my mouth for a split-second before she says nonchalantly, “Cool. It’s settled. You’ll teachme. We’ll start with catching trout, following trails, shooting the crossbow, picking berries?—”

I bark a laugh. “Don’t speed past that crossbow part now.” I waggle the bow in a “no” gesture. “You ain’t touching this thing until I know good and well you won’t shoot the messenger.”

She sighs dramatically. “Fine, but I bet you’d feel pretttty guilty if I wound up dead, killed by whatever mysterious thing calls my name in the woods. A silly little city girl like me might head straight toward that danger.”

I smirk. “Youarepretty reckless.”

That earns me another scowl, so I lift my hand in surrender.