SHADOW BLOOD MOON
1734 Words
Steel woke up groggy, head pounding. He didn’t remember much past the third round of shots, but he did register one thing:
There was a naked blonde curled against his chest.
Good outcome, he thought.
He wondered if there was time for one more roll in the hay before he made his exit. A night out with the dwarves was always the same: heavy drinking, a fight or two, way too much laughter, and a woman who didn’t mind a man built like a freight train.
From what he remembered, it had been a good one. The drink flowed, and the women were beautiful and willing.
Lillyanne had dragged Sam out around one in the morning, scolding him as he tried to order another round for the whole bar. Carlos had arrived around two. Steel remembered watching the old vampire slip in from the shadows like bad news in a good suit, order his drink, and let the room bend around him. Some people flinched at Carlos’s presence. Others leaned closer like he was a drug.
Steel just saw him as a comrade. Old family friend. Battle brother. He’d have that vampire’s back anywhere, even if it meant taking on responsibility he’d spent his whole life dodging.
The blonde beside him stirred. So did a certain part of him.
He growled low, gave her a playful smack, and she turned, smiling, legs wrapping around him without hesitation.
Who was Steel to deny a lady in need?
He made it back to the compound just in time for sunrise. Another day of training the small wolf. He was enjoying his time here more than he’d admit, especially since the blonde had mentioned she might have a friend.
Priorities.
He headed straight to the outside shower, turned the water on full bore, and stepped under the freezing torrent. The shock beat back the hangover, clearing his head.
As the water washed over him, he let his thoughts catch up.
This pack thing.
Steel loved his rogue life, no ties, no territory, no one to answer to. Giving in to his true Alpha nature meant drawing attention. Challenge. Responsibility. A wolf was only as strong as their pack. Bears played by different rules. The shifter clans all did their own thing, but the Moon Goddess watched them all.
A one-girl pack.
A little pipsqueak of a wolf with a spine of steel.
He liked the kid. She had guts. But he wasn’t sure about the power Carlos kept hinting at. Maybe all that trauma had forced her wolf out early, her body protecting itself the only way it knew how.
That made sense to him.
He’d go through with it anyway, for Carlos. For old times ' sake. And maybe because it felt like a new kind of adventure.
He shut off the water, towelled off, pulled on his clothes, and called for the girl.
They ran.
They trained.
Before he knew it, the night of the full moon had arrived.
Steel felt the energy humming in the air, wild and endless. Even for someone who could shift at will, the full moon’s pull made him feel unstoppable.
He hadn’t told Angel much. She was already nervous and, if he was honest, so was he. Too many unknowns.
Sam and Lillyanne cooked dinner, then disappeared into the caves. Shifter business was best handled without dwarven commentary.
Carlos was nowhere to be seen, which probably meant he approved of the arrangement.
As the sun dipped low, Steel motioned for Angel to follow him. They walked to the small clearing behind the compound. Steel lit the torches in a circle around a makeshift altar. Rose petals were scattered over the ground, Lillyanne’s touch, no doubt.
Angel inhaled deeply. The scent calmed her shoulders, even if her hands still shook.
Steel looked up as the full moon climbed into the sky. He took his place in front of the altar.
“Kneel, wolf,” he commanded.
Angel’s knuckles were white as she dropped to her knees. Rose petals clung to her skin.
From his back pocket, Steel pulled a small satchel of moon dust. He circled her in a few strides, sprinkling a ring of shimmering white powder around them both. It caught the moonlight, glowing faintly.
He returned to his place. “Do you, young wolf, recognise me as your Alpha and King? Do you pledge allegiance before our mother, the Moon Goddess?”
“Yes, I do,” Angel whispered.
“Louder.”
“Yes, I do!” she yelled.
Steel’s mouth curved. “Good girl.”
His voice dropped low, heavy with oath and old power. “Young wolf, as your Alpha, I promise to protect you and to act in the best interest of the pack. Angel, do you promise to always act in the best interest of the pack, and, if needed, to forfeit your life for the greater good?”
Angel swallowed. “Yes, I do. I promise to always act in the best interest of the pack, and, if need be, to forfeit my life.”
“The Moon Goddess is our witness,” Steel shouted to the sky. “Hear me this night, we become the Shadow Blood Moon Pack.”
Angel’s eyes widened as Steel drew out a small jewelled dagger and sliced his palm open. He held his hand out to her.
“Drink my blood, child,” he said. “Seal our pact before our mother, the Moon Goddess.”
Angel grabbed his hand, licking tentatively.
“Drink,” Steel roared.
She obeyed, drinking deeper.
He felt the bond snap into place as her lips moved against his skin, the connection flooding through him, hot and wild. The moon above seemed to blaze brighter. The ring of dust around them glowed silver-white.
For a heartbeat, it felt like the Moon herself was watching.
Angel’s face, smeared with blood, shifted from exaltation to horror.
Crack.
“What’s happening?” she cried, as pain ripped through her body. Steel watched every limb contort, bones breaking to make way for what she truly was.
He roared with her and let the bear tear free.
Four paws hit the ground. He nuzzled her trembling form, opening the mind-link fully.
Ease into it, his voice rumbled inside her head. Don’t fight it.
“It hurts,” she whimpered aloud and in his mind.
Your wolf wants to run. Come with me, child.
Her grimace softened as she stopped resisting and let go.
Within minutes, a sleek black wolf stood before him, beautiful, wild, marked with a pale crescent at her neck.
Come, little wolf, he mind-linked. Let’s run free tonight.
They shot into the trees together.
Angel, he said through the bond. This is ours now. This link. Any time you need me, I will feel it. My pain is yours. Yours is mine.
Family, she sent back, surprised by how right it felt.
Yes, Steel replied. Family.
The moon is beautiful, she thought, breathless. I love her.
She’s our goddess. Howl for her. Show her you see her.
Angel threw back her head.
“Awooooooo!”
Steel roared with her, a massive bear and a young wolf calling to their goddess.
They ran on.
Quiet, Steel ordered suddenly.
Angel dropped low, letting her instincts guide her. The world sharpened, scent, sound, every detail crystal clear. A deer stepped into the clearing ahead, wary but unaware of exactly where they were.
Hunger twisted through her. Fresh meat. Her wolf salivated, muscles bunching to spring.
Steel felt it through the link and shut it down fast.
No. Not now.
Why not? she protested, eyes locked on the prey.
Because you need control first. A young wolf without control is a rabid wolf. Next month, we hunt. Tonight, we learn to run without killing. The Moon blessed us. We honour that.
Reluctantly, Angel pulled her gaze from the deer and followed Steel deeper into the mountains. The Seven Brothers made the perfect playground, ridges, valleys, streams, all lit silver by the moon.
Eventually, they came to a small shack near the highway.
Angel slowed. Something twisted in her chest.
This place… she thought. I know this place. I don’t want to be here.
Open your mind, Steel commanded gently. Show me.
She hesitated, then let the bond drag the memories out.
Phil. Alley. Their ugliness. The way they treated her. The helpless rage. The strange energy building around her. Doors slamming on their own. Lights dying. Objects moving.
Phil’s death.
Alley coming at her. Something unseen wrenched the weapon from her. The arc. The spray. The head hitting the floor.
Her terror. Her power. Her wolf tearing through her skin for the first time.
Steel saw it all. Felt it. A feral anger rose inside him, protective, murderous.
Angel whimpered, wolf-form shaking, eyes glistening.
Stop, Steel ordered, voice hard. No more tears. I will not have a weak wolf in my pack.
She flinched, but listened.
What they did was wrong. What you did was survival, he said. This is done. Finished. We take what we must, and we do not drown in regret. We are the strong, my little Angel of Death. Now run. The night is still ours.
Yes, Alpha, she answered.
A strange peace settled over her. The shack faded behind them. The weight of what happened there stayed, but it no longer pinned her down.
Carlos was right, Steel thought as they ran. This girl was something else. He’d never seen power like that in a shifter.
He spared one last look at her wolf form, the stark white crescent at her neck.
Marked by the Moon Goddess?
He kept that thought to himself.
They reached the compound just before dawn.
Sam and Lillyanne had left out clothes for them.
Angel shifted back easily this time, pieces of herself clicking into place.
“You did good, little one,” Steel said. “I’m proud to have you in the Shadow Blood Moon Pack.”
Angel’s voice was soft but sure. “I’m happier than you know. I finally feel like I belong somewhere.”
“We eat,” he said. “Then you sleep.”
“Yes, Alpha,” she beamed.
And for the first time in a very long time, Angel didn’t feel like a stray.
She felt like a wolf with a family to call her own.
- Writer
