Fangs of Blood and Moon

Chapter 2

Dante

I made my way through the city, and my eyes scanned the crowd. The humans all around made me nervous. I didn't like being this close to them. Since things had gotten bad, they had all taken to lashing out at anything that seemed out of the norm. Even going so far as to call their own witches. Paranormals like me and my pack had always kept ourselves somewhat hidden from humans, but now we had to be even more on guard.

After everything got really bad, most of us wolves moved away from the cities. Because the draw of the moon could expose us if we weren't careful. So to be back in a city after almost a year was unsettling.

"Dante." The man beside me grumbled in a voice too low for the humans to hear. I nodded to him to assure him that I also hated this too.

"Once we find her, we will be out of here," I assured him, and he nodded. One of our pack had been lured to this city, and we hadn't heard from her. She thought she had found her mate, but with no word from her, we had grown worried. Without a mate of my own yet, I couldn't understand the reckless need to chase that feeling. I focused on locating her scent. The address she had told us was around here, but her scent was nowhere to be found. "Reed." The man next to me looked up. "Let's check the woods." He nodded to me.

We made our way out of the city, and I felt the relief of putting distance between us and the humans. I didn't know why she would be in the small surrounding forest and not the city, but something was telling me to check. I rarely ignored my gut feelings. Knowing it might be my wolf senses picking up on something I couldn't quite feel yet. When we stepped into the small forest, I caught a whiff of her scent and looked at Reed, who nodded to confirm that he smelled her too.

We made our way towards the scent. As we neared the source, there was a frantic sound against the forest floor before we saw the flash of red fur. Reed and I rushed for the young wolf, and she met us. I crouched over her. She looked weak and hungry, and then my eyes landed on the collar around her neck. It had silver in it. No wonder she had not returned. She couldn't shift. The young wolf whimpered, and I reached up, grabbing the collar and trying to avoid the silver. I winced as my finger brushed over a piece, but I managed to tear the collar off.

The relief that flooded her eyes as it fell to the ground was instant. Her body rippled, and soon the young woman sat on the ground before me. She held her arms around her and began to sob.

"Thank you. Thank you." Reed crouched next to her to check on her.

"Are you alright? You must be starving. Let's get you some food." She had been missing for two weeks. She shook her head slightly.

"No. Not alright. But a kind human was giving me food." I lifted my eyebrows, and she pointed further into the forest. "She's trapped in a cabin over there. The humans are so mean to her, but she has snuck meat out for me for the last week." I looked at Reed, and he nodded because he knew where my head was at.

"Take her to safety. I'll free that human woman for helping her." Reed nodded once more and helped the young woman stand. I pulled off my coat and wrapped it around her. Winter here was not too cold, but she was not properly dressed for the weather. A T-shirt and some leggings only. She whispered a thank you to me, and Reed led her away. He would get her back to our car.

I looked in the direction she had pointed in. Some human had been helping a random wolf? Without knowing that she was a paranormal being, and seemingly at her own expense. Yet she was also being mistreated. I would have to see this human for myself. I followed the young wolf's scent towards the direction of the cabin. I heard screams as I neared, and my stomach clenched. I couldn't risk going after her now. If the humans were there, especially.

As much as it pained me to not repay her kindness to a member of my pack, I couldn't risk it either. I was their alpha, and I had to protect them over the human. The wind shifted direction, and I got a whiff of blood that made me cringe, and then it set my body on fire. The scent called to every part of me all at once, and suddenly I was moving towards the source without thinking. Mate. My body sang to me. That was the scent of my mate. She was here.

The smell of blood got stronger, and in horror, I realized it was my mate's blood I was smelling. As I neared it, I heard laughter. I darted behind a tree as some humans stepped out of the small cabin and locked the door.

"Maybe this time she really will die. Good riddance to the witch, honestly. She's not as fun as she used to be." My inner wolf growled at his words and the way the others laughed. They hurt my mate and thought it was funny? I wanted to rush over, but I held myself back as I let them walk away. When I was certain they were gone, I rushed over to the cabin. The air was soaked in the scent of her blood. Too much blood.

I yanked the door open, shattering the lock as I did so. She was lying on the dirty floor, blood soaking into the wood under her. I rushed forward and gently rolled her onto her back. She was barely breathing. Her body was covered in injuries, and my hands shook with barely contained rage. She was dying. I could smell it. I had to do something, or I would lose her. The other half of my soul. I leaned down to her neck and brushed my nose over her skin, searching for that spot that called to me.

"I'm sorry, mate. I'm sorry I have to take this choice from you, but it's the only way I can heal you." I whispered against her skin that was beginning to turn cold. I found the spot and sank my teeth into her neck. Her body barely flinched at the pain as I set our bond into her. The rush of it made me lightheaded for a moment. I heard as her heartbeat sped up. The blood pumped quickly through her as our bond rushed with power through her veins. It wouldn't heal her completely, but it would save her life for now. I would have to heal her more later.

Finally, I pulled my teeth back out of her skin and licked the wound. The mark healed and set into her skin perfectly. I felt joy at the sight of it. Then, carefully, I lifted her fragile body into my arms and carried her out of the cabin. I had to get her back home with me. I would protect her from now on. She was my mate, my everything.