Page 21 of The Wolf Moon

“I won,” I said firmly, “Submit, you devil wolf.”

Cate panted above me, the tip of her nose still just under my palm. I considered the idea that she could take advantage and tear into me now that I was useless under her, but instead of being afraid I merely trailed my hand further up her muzzle until it was between her ears. I patted her head as she had done me earlier, hearing her growl in response with irritation.

Suddenly, she was full-bodied slammed into and torn from on top of me, her form rolling across the floor of the forest and into a tree painfully. Another wolf stood over me, large and shaking with rage. He growled angrily as Cate struggled to get back onto her feet.

Cate began to shift back into her human form, tilting her head to bare her neck submissively. As she gained her human features, she winced begrudgingly at the King Alpha, but said nothing.

The King Alpha moved as though he intended to attack her and I reached out for him, gripping at his fur blindly.

“Wait!” I cried out, tugging at him forcefully, “It was just a match! We weren’t really fighting!”

The King Alpha turned those cold eyes from Cate to me dangerously and began to shift himself, his bones reforming to that of his human form. I released my grip on him and he instead reached out with his strong human hand, snatching my wrist in his grasp firmly. He lifted my hand roughly to inspect the deep gash of my knife wound angrily.

“You’re my mate,” He snarled furiously, turning to glare at Cate, “Don’t ever think about sparring with her again. I take any injury to her as an injury to me, as you know!” He roared those last words viciously, pulling me to my feet angrily.

As he turned away, he forcefully began to drag me behind him, r

Ten

Chapter 9

The King Alpha’s grip along my hand was like the whip of a flame; warm and yet biting at my flesh overwhelmingly. Something stirred under my skin as it recognized his presence and it was unnerving to say the least. I was distracted by it and at the same time I was extremely distracted by him.

It was the first time I’d seen him since he “marked” me. Something about him seemed more radiant than ever before and yet where I used to have trouble keeping my eyes on him, now I struggled to look away. His muscles were taut with suppressed anger as he tugged me along behind him, the heat of it pulsing through him visibly. I could sense him in a way I couldn’t sense the other shapeshifters. He was raw power and it was like a lullaby to that power within me. It called to me in a way the light of a flame calls to the cold and weary, and I was drawn despite being aware of the danger and the doom that would follow if I got too close.

I felt in a daze until he suddenly released me momentarily.

“You’ve spelled me!” I accused him quite abruptly, causing him to pause mid-stride. I looked up and away from him, recognizing my surroundings immediately. He had pulled me to his house and back into his room without my notice. My accusation was all but confirmed.

“Did I?” He said simply, digging through his belongings until he removed bandages from them. I frowned, surprised but also suspicious. When he turned to me, he added in the most unconcerned yet all-knowing tone, “Why do you think that?”

A blush of embarrassment caught me. As if I would tell him that I just spent the entire trip here staring at him and his… everything.

Without missing a beat, the King Alpha pushed me just enough to make me stumble. I sat on the edge of the bed to steady myself and glared at him in response. And then I widened my eyes with surprise when he kneeled in front of me, reaching for my injured hand once more but much gentler this time around. My heart thudded painfully as he began to clean the bloodied wound on my palm.

“I didn’t do anything to you. Many wolves have tried to mark others and all have failed. If the Mother truly cared for you, she wouldn’t have blessed you,” He spat the word as if it was the opposite of a blessing; a curse. And for that moment, I truly felt the same. When he finished wrapping my hand, he turned those cold steel eyes on mine dangerously. “And now we’ll both suffer from her blessing if only to cause her pain, too.”

He all but announced that he knew I would die from the mark.

“What do you mean ‘we’ll both suffer’?” I asked, my voice shaking slightly.

“As I said before, an injury to you is an injury to me,” He told me, his voice low with growing bitterness. “When you go, I will feel it, but the pain I’ve felt because of those deities is worse than any pain you’ll cause me. It will be worth it.”

“Why do you hate me so much?” I abruptly whispered, the unfairness of it all suddenly too much in that moment. I felt the sting of tears in my eyes and tensed, steeling myself from allowing this monster to see me cry. I shifted the sadness and self-pity into anger and resolved myself to glaring at the King Alpha.

He remained kneeling in front of me, a look of surprise just briefly crossing his expression before he lowered his face enough to guard his features.

“I hate the humans who raised you. I hate the Goddesses who bless you.” He growled dangerously, his words stinging even though I didn’t want to care about them. He remained quiet a moment, “When I met you, you smelled wild, fresh from a hunt. I could taste the forest around you; the joy of it. You were free. I hated that scent. It reminded me of a life without pain. I hated being reminded of something I can’t have. But you…”

He paused, truly taking a moment as though he had to analyze my existence and exactly how he felt about it.

“No. I don’t hate you,” He finally confessed.

I was momentarily speechless.

“Then why…” I began, but he interrupted sharply.

“Because the Goddesses chose you to be my next punishment, Milena,” The King Alpha snapped angrily, “And I won’t just go along with it. I have made my choice. It’s just bad luck on your part.”

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