Page 23 of Moon Guardian
But I could be patient, if I decided to pursue her instead, because something new piqued my interest as well.
Something inside of her called to me, not just her magic, but an entity that my wolf recognized.
It was possible that by touching the Crescent, it had changed her in more ways than I thought was possible.
Could it have given her a wolf’s soul?
The soul of the Goddess herself reincarnated?
The idea intrigued me, making my pace slow as the desire to allow her to escape grew stronger.
The other alphas didn’t match my pace, instead they rushed past me, snapping their jaws and losing themselves to the domination fight that ruled our primal minds, falling into the rut as they craved her body and her blood.
I already knew where I stood among these alphas. I had lost against Dash, and even Ryker had taken a snap at me, overcome by his wolf, so I didn’t take it too personally.
We had all been mated to the same female, which meant we needed to decide our hierarchy within our mated pack.
Even though she should be dead if we simply worked together, our instincts drove us, overpowering reason and giving her yet another opportunity to escape. Only one of us could kill her and truly end the bond, fulfilling the rejection to completion, but now I was glad that hadn’t happened.
Perhaps we’d missed something. A human didn’t simply walk into the city, even if the outcast wolf had helped her, and judging by the stench of blood on her otherwise pristine coat, she had been the one to give the female an edge.
This human had made it all the way to the moondial and had enough strength to overcome four alphas to take the Crescent. Not a small feat.
Unless she’d had the blessing of the Goddess herself. Unlikely, but possible.
We approached the edge of the forest where the trees scattered up the mountains, the boundary between Ryker’s lands and my own. His mountains gathered the rainwater that spilled into my land, building a natural alliance between our packs that had gone back for generations.
Now, our mate sped into Ryker’s lands, diving into the darkness of the caves that scattered the increasingly rocky terrain scattered with rivers and streams that would make her more difficult to track.
We found the cave she had escaped into, but in these lands, retrieving her would be no small feat. I was more familiar with the outcast pack than most. I knew to slow down before I hit the barrier.
Ryker did not, and slammed into it snout-first with a pained yelp.
The other alphas kicked up rocks, screeching to a halt.
I paced back and forth, panting as I made a decision I knew I would likely regret.
I would do what I could to convince the others to let her live.
And then we would begin the long courtship to mend what we had broken.
Or die trying.
Katlyn
The echo of frustrated alphas lingered in the cave.
They couldn’t get in.
I wasn’t sure how that was possible, but I figured it had something to do with the white wolf that glowed with moonlight.
She wasn’t the only one, I realized, as we walked at a calmer pace through the rocky tunnel.
Moonlight lit our way, even though we were deep underground. I’d never heard of these caves; no human had gone far enough north to map out more wolf territories.
The wolf paused when we reached a trickling stream. Water dripped from the ceiling, pooling in a crevice in the floor. She bent her graceful form and lapped at it, taking her fill before backing away.
By her expectant stare, I guessed she wished for me to drink as well. My tongue was so dry it stuck to the roof of my mouth, so I watched her as I carefully knelt. Cupping the water in my hands, I sipped at it, never taking my eyes off of the beast.
