Page 1 of Moon Guardian
Prologue: Vern
Blood tinged the air, making my nostrils flare.
Home wasn’t supposed to smell like this, like violence and death, but this was what happened when all of the packs were in one place without an outlet for our wolves.
Soon, we would shift.
Soon, we would hunt.
Assuming we didn’t all kill each other, first.
I watched as another brawl broke out, this time a female striking a beta male. Normally, such aggression would catch my interest, but none of the females here called to my wolf.
Not since I became alpha.
Not since everything changed.
Now that I had taken on my father’s role, I would need a mate. The need for a wolf worthy of mine burned in my core. The only way to find her would be through the blessing of the Moon Goddess, and reaching her had been a tradition passed down through generations. The ceremony would sate my need to mate, to fuck, to dominate as the new alpha of my pack, and quell the unrest running rampant after the loss of our leaders.
Doubt tugged at my thoughts. The Moon Goddess had been too quiet for too long. She had allowed all of our alphas to be massacred, or perhaps, that had been a test, one we had failed.
What if she had abandoned us for good this time? What if I really wasn’t worthy to call myself Alpha of this pack?
“We need to get this shit under control,” Ryker said, one of the other new alphas I’d known since I’d been a pup. He didn’t show a shred of doubt in his silver eyes. He’d prepared all his life for this role, unlike me, and was ready to take charge.
I nodded to him in agreement, grateful to have someone familiar at my side. My father always had a strong alliance with the mystics. A growing streak of silver hair formed at Ryker’s temple, marking him as an elder of his pack, even though he was only twenty-three.
Both of our fathers were gone.
The fresh slice across his eye, running from his cheekbone to his brow, marked the result of our grief. The Mercury Pack had lost their alpha, just like the rest of us, forcing a new alpha to be chosen.
He’d been the last wolf standing that night, the same night that I had emerged as alpha of my pack. Given our genetics, it was no surprise, alphas had run in our families for generations, but it wasn’t supposed to happen like this. So sudden and after so much bloodshed. I especially hadn’t been prepared to follow in my father’s pawprints, not when I’d had two older brothers.
Both now dead.
Grief wound its way through my heart and I pushed down the sour taste. None of us were ready for this, but we’d take on the role. We had to. A new force threatened our very existence and we needed to be at the top of our game to face it.
Crossing my arms, I perused the shifters throwing insults at one another, this time it was the Mercury Pack and the Soldiers who’d managed to piss each other off. “Where’s Merc?” I asked, the newest alpha of the Soldier Pack. This might be my land, but Soldier wolves were not my responsibility. I’d let their new alpha deal with them.
I had enough problems on my hands, like the High Moon Ceremony coming three days early, further evidence that something was wrong with our Goddess. Despite that, we still needed to perform the rite if we wished to find mates, so I’d gathered the wolves from all five cities. Without mates, we’d lose the Goddess’s blessing, meaning we’d permanently lose our ability to shift and procreate.
Something that would destroy our race forever.
It was enough to convince the packs of the urgency, although they’d barely arrived in time. Now if I could just keep them from killing each other before midnight, we’d be golden.
Ryker glanced at the forest, his gaze narrowing. “Dash said he would scout the area before the ceremony, but I think he was just chasing some tail.”
Quite the accusation.
None of us could fuck, or mate, or even shift. Not yet. Not until the ceremony had been completed. The Moon Goddess didn’t need to be further provoked by attempting any of those things without her blessing.
“He better not be,” I growled.
A male with shaggy black hair approached us, the fresh slice on his eye marking him as the alpha of the Midnight Pack. Although the blood on his knuckles suggested he might be contributing to the problem. “I have my wolves on him,” he informed us, not bothering to introduce himself. It didn’t much matter to me which alpha the other packs had chosen. We’d be back in our own lands after tonight.
Assuming we didn’t all kill each other, first.
We took our positions at the moondial and waited for the sun to set.
