Howl At The Moon

O- Our Wolfs Den

Helenas pov:

I couldn't help but admire every inch of his caramel skin tracing the beads of sweat lining up on his chest as they collide dripping down to his navel slowly. His hair was light brown matching his Lycans fur as well as he was built in his human form as he was in his Lycans. His pack was full of Lycans all strong and absolutely terrifying with all the paint they smeared on their entire body each in different patterns and stripes. The Lycans seemed extremely barbaric and that's saying a lot compared to all the wild animals in my own pack.

"Come," My mate said to me as he reached out his hand covered in brown mud.

He then leads me deeper into the woods as our wolves stepped back simultaneously making a path for us to walk through. As I passed Onyx's wolf I gave him a worried look and he just nodded at me signaling me to go on. I was afraid but not of any Lycan or wolf but I was afraid that once I was to be mated I would no longer be free. Free to lead my own pack into battle and take vengeance into my own hands. I would no longer be me. And that wasn't something I was ready for. I didn't want anything to change and that's what his existence meant. The change was coming whether I liked it or not.

I followed my mate through the darkness as he held my hand leading me behind him. He stopped at a large tall oak tree letting go of my hand. I turned around scoping out our surroundings and when I turned back around he was gone. I looked around once more to see if I could spot him when suddenly his arm reached down poking out of the leaves surrounding the branches of the tree scaring the crap out of me. As I clenched an arm to my chest trying to slow my heartbeat again. He patiently waited before I took his hand and he began pulling me up. My mate was quite strong and lifting me seemed to be nothing because as soon as my feet touched that first branch he just turned his back and began climbing up as I tried my best to keep up. As we got higher I realized the reason he was bringing me here was to show me his village. The higher we got the more I could see all the hidden little manmade houses they had built high up into the trees. They were all connected by rope bridges and twine as they were made with fallen branches and leaves. From the ground, you couldn't see them, but from up here I could see everything below. I looked over to my campsite which was clear to see from here. Now I know how they discovered us. But I was curious how it was possible that we didn't even smell them up here.

My mate stood proudly at the top of the highest branch on the tree looking over the tree line as he stood tall looking down at all that they built. He let out a loud and confident growl vibrating from deep within his chest as it echoed through the forest shaking the trees in its way. I began to notice a few tiny faces start to peek out from some of the hut windows as his pack members started to appear each coming out of hiding holding a pup or two some even had as many as four of them, It was clear to see who the warriors were and who the elders of the group were. Mostly the women stayed home and hid with their pups while the men go out and fight. The warriors who attacked us consisted of nothing but males so it made sense. However, if mate thought I was going to be one of them hiding in the trees as my warriors fight for me then he had another thing coming. once all eyes were on us mate climbed down by my side grabbing my arm as he locked our palms and lifted both our arms to the air conjoined as he growled a proud growl. The Wolves and Lycans below began to cheer as well as the Lycans outside of their huts. Howls began to fill the air as everyone celebrated. All of them were happy including my pack mates all except for me. I just couldn't shake this feeling I had deep in my stomach that soon everything would change. And I wore it all over my face as plain as day.

"What troubles you," mate asked breaking me from thought.

"Huh? Nothing, I was just thinking how I don't even know your name" I quickly lied.

He chuckled.

"My mother named me Ahaan, meaning sunrise but my warriors call me Khai, " mate explained.

"Why Khai? If your name is Ahaan?" I asked him.

"Because Khai has many meanings like "chosen one" and "Crowned" in English Khai translates to mean Royalty and I am their king, " He said as he turned towards the hidden tree village.

"Together we will rule as King and Queen of this whole village and when your pack joins mine we will have some of the greatest warriors combined".My mate planned without me.

"It's a beautiful name. Both of them, But if I'm being honest I like Ahaan more. Always been a fan of the sunrise." I told him.

"Ahaan died a long time ago." "I have been Khai for as long as I can remember," Khai said.

His aura turned from warm to nostalgic and sad as his body language tensed up hard and he seemed more distant. Not that I minded that much. The more distant the better for me. I didn't need to get too attached. My Lycan and I were one mind and 2 forms, I wasn't like other she wolfs. In my human form, I was an ordinary human and in my Lycans form, I was still me. Still conscious and completely aware of my thoughts and feelings. I was in control and no mate bond was going to force me to feel anything. I fought it as much as I could but I had to admit I did feel something for him already. If it wasn't just his attractive physique it was the respect and admiration I had for him and how much he was loyal and truly cared for the well-being of his pack. He proved to be a good leader so far judging from the fact that everyone here seemed to love and respect him so much. The villagers treated him as if they would worship the ground he walked on. And would give their lives to protect him just as he would for them. After Khai was through making his big announcement to the pack we climbed down as I followed him across the rope bridge in silence, passing some of the kind Lycans who came out to greet us as we made our way to Khai's den. The joyous looks on their faces as they cheered us on patting Khai and me on the back as we passed. A very old and wrinkly Elder woman reached out her hand for what I thought was a handshake, grabbing my hand as she held it tightly. Her grip was strong as she smiled at me until her eyes grew wide exposing the whites of her eyeballs. Her hold on me grew tighter and tighter as she dug her nails into my skin forcing my hand to bleed with fresh blood dripping down my arm. My mate continued walking but I wasn't able to follow because of her hold, and I didn't want to be rude and just pull away. I recognized that blank look on her face. It's the same look I get when I had a vision. The only difference is this time it wasn't me. Her claws ripped deeper into my skin aggressively as she violently shook because of her vision. I could feel the emotions around us from onlookers as they watched what was happening. An old man who was standing behind her realized what was going on first and grabbed hold of her arm as he tried to get her to release her grip. Then more and more Lycans started to get involved as they all tried to pry her off of me. I guess my mate felt the panic because soon he was rushing over with such rage in his eyes. He looked as if he was going to kill her and his emotion was so thick it was almost overwhelming. I raised my free hand up placing it on his chest and stopping him in his tracks.

"It is alright, She means me no harm," I said as I looked each wolf in the eye warning them to back off.

"Are you sure?" Mate asked.

"Yes, I can take it." I nodded reassuringly. I felt his aura mellow out as he let out a deep breath.

The old woman's legs began to give out from under her as she collapsed into the old man's arms still clinging to my hand.

"I'm sorry Your highness... This is Heidi. She is my mate, Heidi has these visions sometimes, she cannot control them" The old man behind her said in between his struggles to hold her up.

"It is fine, no need to apologize. I know a vision when I see one...When she wakes let her know id like to see her" I said as I pulled her hand from around my wrist as it loosened.

"Are you alright Helena? Do I need to come up there?" Spirit linked me from the ground.

"All good" I quickly responded.

My mate seemed calmer now that my wounds were beginning to heal. Lycans healed fast so I wasn't really worried about the pain. It still stung a little when the wind blew on it but other than that I was fine. We finally made it to Khai's hut which was the biggest of them all, It had 3 floors built in taking you further up the tree the top floor was where the bedroom was. It had a huge king-sized bed next to a large cutout window overlooking a nice view. The second floor was the bathroom and a spare room for future pups. and on the last floor was the kitchen area it wasn't much but some wooden tables and a few cabinets and chairs but these manmade huts were home to a lot of these wolves.

"Do you like it?" Mate asked.

"It's homey" I responded.

"I hope we can make this our den and one day maybe we will have a pup or two running around here," Khai told me.

"One day," I said.

My mind was elsewhere probably off still plotting my revenge.