Page 4 of Moon Guardian
Moonlight filtered through the canopy, calling to the beast inside my soul.
He gnawed at my insides, angry at me for denying the shift, but that was our way. If I tried to shift before I received the blessing of the Moon Goddess, it could kill me.
It was time to return and take my place at the moondial. Then he could come out to play with the Goddess’s permission.
But I couldn’t leave, not yet.
Not when I smelled… her.
Where are you, little wolf?
Moving slowly through the underbrush, I avoided twigs and leaves that would give away my position. My nostrils flared, scenting the impossible.
Feminine lunar magic that called to mine. A decadent mixture of jasmine and moonlight made my nostrils flare and my core tighten. All wolves knew the smell of moonlight, it lingered all around us at night, reaching a peak during High Moon, however this was different, as if the essence of the moon had come to dwell among us, lingering in the trees waiting to be tasted.
Lunar magic only came from one source: the Goddess. Through her, she gave us the very essence that gave wolves the ability to shift, a gift that implanted itself in the wombs of our compatible mates, giving a new alpha the chase of a lifetime. If I could scent moonlight, it meant I had found my mate.
But I shouldn’t be able to scent her before the ceremony, and while it was faint, the musk was undeniable.
A shadow burst through the trees, tromping like a frightened rabbit and I crouched, slipping into the shadows as I watched. Whatever creature was out here was doing a poor job of hiding, although I had to sharpen my gaze in my human form to catch it.
Not my female. No. A mortal boy.
Irritating.
Lifting my lip, I abated my desire to rip this boy to shreds. I had other, more intriguing, prey to hunt tonight. I needed to find my mate and scent her properly before I returned, otherwise I feared I’d lose her forever.
The scent was so faint, so delicate and fine, I knew I might never find her again if I left now with only a shadow against my senses.
The boy crouched and seemed to look directly at me, then he turned, baring white teeth that contrasted against the mud caked on his skin.
A smile, I realized.
He was… playing with someone.
With…her.
Jealousy and rage burned through my veins without warning, nearly overturning my decision to maintain my hiding place.
My training took over, years under the alpha of my pack that instilled in me reason over instinct. I was a soldier, and strategy always won a fight.
My desire was to find my mate, memorize her scent with a full, deep breath, which required finding her, first.
And this male brought her scent with him, so if I followed him, I would inevitably find my elusive prey.
The boy pushed aside a bunch of leaves and looked both ways, again glancing in my direction but failing to distinguish my form against the underbrush.
Then he bolted.
It was easy to follow him, tracing him ten paces behind as he marked his path with broken twigs and disturbed leaves.
He paused, the movement unexpected, and I slipped silently into a new hovel to watch.
He’d found a sacred Moon Blossom, a treasure that we offered our mates when we wished to gather the magic required to produce offspring.
Pups had never appealed to me, until now. As alpha of my pack, new desires formed in me that I had never felt before. The scar across my face burned not only with the violence of the act that placed me at the lead of my pack, but imbued my soul with magic.
Magic that reflected the desires of the wolves I served. The desire to live safely in numbers, to thrive, to run together and howl to the moon in honor of our goddess.
