Page 35 of The Wolf Moon

“For wars,” He answered simply.

“Against other wolves?” I turned my gaze to his form slowly. My village didn’t train our people to fight. We weren’t even supposed to hunt more than what was in our designated area and that meant mostly fishing. How many times had I risked my life by searching for food further than I was supposed to?

“Logan,” Caleb called out, ignoring my line of question easily. The man being demolished by Cate grunted and Cate released him before pausing when seeing me. A short tilt of her head was all she gave me before walking further away into the arena and out of my sight. The man, Logan, approached Caleb and stopped when peering at me. He narrowed his eyes momentarily, something about my presence bothering him, and then he bowed almost comically low, revealing his neck to me briefly.

“Tala,” Logan greeted me gruffly.

“It’s Mila,” I responded quietly.

“Logan was reportedly one of the first to be forced to submit to you,” Caleb told me, something in his tone indicating that this was something of an embarrassing fact for Logan. I hesitated, taking a moment to look at the man further. He was dangerously tall, with dark red hair. Despite the usual pale that came with gingers, he was deeply tanned as though he lived in the sunlight. And his eyes were a light brown that narrowed when meeting mine.

“I was also the one who would have won the hunt,” Logan stated determinedly.

I recalled the heat of the wolf’s breath on the back of my neck, just mere inches away from ending my life before my power had held them all at bay. A chill went through me despite my best attempts to appear confident.

“I want you to watch over Mila for a while. I’ll be nearby,” Caleb ordered Logan briefly, pawning me off on one of his warriors without hesitation. I immediately felt discomfort at the idea, especially in the responding look on Logan’s face, but Caleb didn’t wait for approval from either of us before he was off speaking to the others without me.

I narrowed my eyes at Logan suspiciously.

“You aren’t even going to apologize for trying to kill me?” I finally asked him accusingly. So far, he had been the only unapologetic wolf I’d come across. He turned his head to the side to look at me emotionlessly.

“You killed one of my friend’s cousin. She was pregnant with a pup nearly two decades ago when the Maiden took away her blessing. She was one of many who lost their child in their own bellies. You killed one of ours. I tried to kill you. I find we’re mostly even,” He responded simply, “Did you ever apologize for taking that life?”

I was staring at him openly, remembering the feeling of horror and utter disgust when that wolf had shifted back into a

Sixteen

Chapter 15

Artemis, huntress of the moon, make my aim true. Make my aim true. Make my aim true.

A whisper was echoing through my mind, something barely heard among the noise of my own thoughts trailing through my dreams.

Give me goals to seek and the constant determination to achieve them. Grant me communion with nature. Allow me to live surrounded by plants and animals that I can grow, protect, and nurture. Grow. Protect. Nurture. Nurture. Nurture.

My breath hitched in my slumber and I twisted under the sheets with discomfort.

Allow me the strength and wisdom to be my own mistress, not defined by the expectations of others. And sustain my sexuality to be as yours- wild and free as nature itself. Wild and free. Wild. Free.

I sat up sharply, my eyes wide with momentarily confusion. It took me second to take in my surroundings and to recall the guest room I’d been resting in for over a month since Roman had been gone. The night was dark outside the window, but it wasn’t quiet. At least not to me. I could hear the hum of something powerful through the air, whispering words I could no longer understand, and it called to me in a way I hadn’t felt before.

I flung the sheets from my legs and carefully made my way to the door, opening it easily before stepping out of the room entirely. I didn’t look for Caleb or Diana, instead focused entirely on the eerie call that sang to me like a siren in the night. I wasn’t sure if the front door was unlocked or if I had unlocked it in my daze. Either way, I was suddenly outside in the cool April air.

Without knowing where it would lead me, I followed the call to the nearby woods, stepping with ease through the trees. My fingers brushed against a tree, causing me to pause momentarily as I looked at it curiously. The rough edges of the bark felt vivid, reminding me despite the strange sensations that this wasn’t a dream.

I didn’t have to walk too far. Before long, I was coming across a familiar space; a lake in the trees with a clear surface that reflected the sky above it flawlessly. I had nearly died by this lake. I had marked Roman by this lake. And now I had been called to it again.

I wasn’t alone. In front of the lake, there were five women of the Trinity pack, dancing under the stars. Three of them held a lit torch in their hands, lifting it to the sky as they twirled between the other two, before passing them with an ease hard to understand. A red symbol marked each of their foreheads, flashing in the night; black one second and red along the light of the torches the next. Words were being whispered among each of them, over and over again as though they were pleaded with life itself.

It took me a moment to realize that I recognized at least one of the women in the group. Diana passed her torch to the next wolf and swiftly turned to spot me. I thought I would run, but instead I stared wide-eyed curiously. She stepped towards me and lifted her hand to me welcomingly.

I hesitated, but then moved to take her hand with wonder. She pulled me towards the other wolves, who folded me into their circle as easily as breathing. I wanted to ask what was going on, but something in the siren song was striking me dumbfounded. I only stood as one wolf traced her fingertip over my forehead slowly, drawing that symbol I had seen before in their abandoned temple.

It’s the symbol of the Triple Goddesses.

I instantly knew this was something I was not supposed to be doing. Roman would be furious to know any of his wolves were drawing symbols of the Goddesses on their forehead and dancing for them under the stars. And at the same time, this made me much more eager to participate in this strange situation.

I fell into the dance with a familiar ease, as though I had done it before. And while I had done dances before, I hadn’t done one such as this one. I lifted my hand when a torch was held out to me, taking it carefully and staring at the flame with wonder before continuing to twirl around the other wolves curiously. Three torches- one for each Goddess.

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