Page 47 of Luna Rising

He led me downstairs and out into the cold, crisp afternoon. There wasn’t a cloud in the gorgeous blue sky, but the scent of snow hung in the air like a promise. While I was impervious to the cold, it helped focus my mind as we walked.

My father held his meetings in our clubhouse, one of the few places the entire pack could assemble comfortably. The Taurus wolves were the largest pack and outnumbered the Geminis by triple. No structure in town could hold them all, so everyone gathered outside in the late afternoon sun.

Charlie and Birch met us before we reached the clearing. Rumors had been circulating since the council’s messenger had delivered an actual scroll like it was olden times. This didn’t surprise me. Pack gossip traveled faster than a dimensional fae. The scroll, however, was a shocker. I knew the council was antiquated, but still. Where did they even get them?

Ewan’s jaw tightened, his hand gripping mine a little tighter. He’d expected this, but that didn’t make it any easier. It felt as if we were walking into an ambush.

Sadly, that wasn’t entirely wrong.

The pack stretched throughout the large, snowy clearing at the base of the mountain. Instead of their voices quieting when we approached, they grew louder. People shouted questions, demanding to know if the rumors were true. All the angry, adrenaline-filled energy made my throat itch, and my wolf rose to the surface unbidden. We took our place at the front.

Ewan raised his hand. The simple gesture held so much power, and silence fell over the crowd. Ice crunched beneath the heel of my black boots as I shifted from foot to foot. Ewan’s other hand still held mine in a public show of unity.

Charlie and Birch stood several steps behind us in the snow, both scanning the clearing for signs of trouble. It was so different from the Geminis; my father had never needed his beta to protect him against internal threats. I’d never lived in a contentious pack.

It would take some time to get used to it, just like everything else about my new life.

“It seems many of you have heard.” Ewan pitched his voice so even those in the back and on the periphery could hear him with their wolf hearing. “The Zodiac Councils are demanding the surrender of all known and suspected eternals within twenty-four hours.” His fingers twisted painfully around mine. “We have no intention of complying.”

“That’s right!” a woman yelled. “The King of Wolves doesn’t take orders from anyone!”

Many agreed with her, and the air filled with similar shouts of encouragement. Others weren’t as thrilled.

“People will die if we go to war!” a man hollered.

Ewan nodded. “Yes. And people will die if we don’t. The Zodiac Council has decided we are the enemy. Even if Zara and I turn ourselves over to them, they’ll destroy this pack as punishment.”

This was, sadly, true. Back in the Valley of the Elements, when the fae turned on the wolves, they hunted our entire families. They would do the same now. The Taurus wolves were already a target.

Clearing his throat, Ewan listed off our allies, assuring his people they wouldn’t take on the Zodiac Council alone. The collective energy grew more feral, more primitive. Talk of battle and bloodshed had that effect on wolves. We fed off each other. Testosterone and adrenaline were a heady scent on the wind.

My throat constricted as hunger gnawed at my insides. I’d drank all my potions before going upstairs to select my outfit, but even Essie’s magic was no match for the pulsating fervor of the pack. The longer Ewan talked, the more the vast array of wolves craved a fight.

And the more I thirsted for their blood.

My fangs pierced my bottom lip. Every muscle was taut, my eyes surveying the crowd like a hunter searching for her prey.

“If you have one of them for dinner, I won’t have time to give you dessert later,” Ewan whispered for only my ears. “Put them away.”

“Ewan.” His name slipped through my teeth in a hiss.

“Look at me. Count to ten.”

Sensing trouble, Charlie and Birch moved closer. Ewan waved them back as I silently counted numbers in my head. The packs’ excitement was like a live wire that I couldn’t escape, couldn’t block from my thoughts.

Ewan rested his forehead against mine and ran his palms up and down my arms. “You are doing such a good job,” he whispered in encouragement. “Only a little longer. Keep smiling and nodding. No one expects you to say much. They just want to meet you.”

His tone was more teasing when he murmured, “Thank you for not showering.”

“Seriously? That’s what you’re thinking about right now?”

He laughed. “It’s what I’m always thinking about.”

The moment broke the bloodlust haze and snapped me back to myself, which I supposed had been Ewan’s point all along.

He turned to address the pack again. “The decision to fight is not up for debate,” he said in a low voice that reverberated through the gathered wolves. “You do have a choice, though. Anyone who wishes to leave is free to go.”

The tension ratcheted up several notches. Behind me, Charlie swore.

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