Light of The Moon

Chapter 2

By the time it was time to leave for the Mating Season Opening Ceremony, I had bathed, dressed in my finest gown, even if it was plainer than dirt, and I had made dinner for Mother, Father, and I.  After a few bowls of plain chicken soup and bread, I decided to walk to the village, regardless of the dark. Mother insisted I take the horse, but I told her to keep the horse in case she needed to take Father to see Doc.  So, before long, I was wrapped in my old cloak and walking down the road with a torch in hand.

The sound of laughter and shouting whafted my way before the lights of the village came into view.  I smiled and continued until I was finally in the village square, by the well. All around me, people were laughing and enjoying all the cakes and sweets baked earlier that day.  Since I didn’t have any money, I steered clear of the many vendors, regardless of the occasional growl of my stomach. It wasn’t long before I ran into Gregory.

“Hanna!” he called out as he worked his way through the crowd towards me.  When he finally reached me, he smiled down at me. “I was hoping you’d be here tonight.”  He offered me his hand, and I smiled and reached to take it. “You going on tonight’s run?”  Before I could respond, one of the men who walked me home approached us.

“Excuse me, Miss Hanna,” he interjected.  Gregory growled in annoyance as we turned to face him.  “Alpha Darius has been looking for you.” Gregory’s eyes widened as he looked at me.

“An Alpha?” he asked, his voice filled with hurt.  I winced and nodded.

“I’ll explain later,” I said before following the man through the crowd.  When we were far enough away, he turned and looked at me.

“I’d stay away from that Omega if I were you,” he said.  “My Alpha is a very jealous man.” I nodded and glanced back at Gregory, who was still watching me.  As much as I always liked him, neither of us were strong enough to challenge an Alpha, so I had to do as was requested of me.

When Darius came into view, I stopped short.  He was sitting at the high table with several other Alphas, all of which already had females with them.  He sipped a cup of wine and watched everyone else around him. His hair was wild and wavy, and his stubble was gone, but he was dressed as nicely as before.  The man strolled right up to his Apha and whispered something in his ear. Then they both looked at me, and I lowered my eyes as he spoke.

“Well, I believe I asked you to come see me,” Darius stated in a booming voice.  “Or is Robert lying to me?” I swallowed hard and approached the, standing across from the table from them.  Several of the Alphas watched us as Darius growled in anger. “Closer… Get over here.” I cringed and walked around the table and stopped next to him, keeping my eyes down.  He sighed and shook his head. “Look at me, damn it.” I swallowed hard and lifted my eyes to his face, absolutely terrified. He smiled when I did. “Finally… Now I can get a better look at you.”  He examined me for a moment while I tried to find my voice.

“Alpha, if I may…” I started, and he smirked.

“The little mouse speaks?” he asked, and everybody laughed.  “By all means, my dear.”

“I just,” I stuttered.  “I just wanted to thank you for your aid earlier today.”  He scoffed and shook his head.

“I suppose it was nothing,” he said.  “After all, it’s forbidden to start the festivities early.”  He motioned towards the empty chair beside him. “Please, sit down.”  I obeyed without a second thought. Before long, my pack’s Alpha, Alpha Gabriel, stood with a glass of wine in his hand.

“Good evening Silver Pack and esteemed guests,” he said with a big smile.  “Welcome to the annual Mating Season festival. We are honored to be hosting this year’s Mating Season.”  Several people throughout the crowd began cheering and clapping. Gabriel smiled and continued. “Please, line up for the annual midnight run.”  Several women throughout the crowd began gathering at the alley leading to the woods beyond the village. I thought of getting up, but I noticed the women sitting next to the Alphas hadn’t budged.  I then looked at Darius, who was watching me with an amused smile on his face.

“You want to join the run?” he asked.  I swallowed hard, afraid to ask my question.

“What happens on the run?” I responded, and his eyes widened in surprise.

“You’ve never participated in the mating season, have you?” he asked in surprise, and I shook my head.  “I’ll have to have a few words with Gabriel…” He then turned to me. “The midnight run is when all the females take off into the woods, and we males run in after them.  I assume you can guess what happens when the male catches the female?” I swallowed hard and nodded. He then smiled. “Most of the time, since many males fight to the death when catching a female, Alphas are usually exempt and get their pick of women during the feasts, but I do like a challenge.”  I swallowed hard, wishing I had stayed home like Mother wanted. I knew something like this was going to happen, but being with an Alpha? More often than not, being with an Alpha meant you would become a permanent plaything. After all, that’s what happened to the last three women Gabriel had chosen.  A plan began to form in my mind, and I forced a smile.

“Why not?” I asked.  “I’ve never participated in any of this before, so why not get the full experience?”  He smirked at me.

“Alright, but heed my warning,” he said in a low voice.  “I catch you, and you’ll not need to go home ever again.”  I gulped as he nodded towards the line. “Get up there before they take off.  As soon as they’re gone, the Alphas like to get busy.” I nodded and took off towards the line.

When I got to the line, Gabriel was already raising his hand.  Several of the women had already changed into their wolf forms, and the others were getting ready to do the same.  I looked over my shoulder and saw Darius watching me and shuddered. Deep down, I was hoping he’d find another girl, but I was also afraid of who else might try to chase me down.  The memory of this afternoon made me wince as I shimmered into my wolf form. My dark brown, almost red fur kept me warm against the early spring chill. Gabriel had also turned into a wolf wolf with pure black fur.  He raised his nose to the sky and let out a long howl, and all the females took off into the woods.

As soon as I broke through the first line of trees, I watched the other females.  Some shifted back into human forms to hide themselves while others kept running. When I looked back towards the village, I could see the males lining up and turned back towards the woods and ran.  I raced past trees and leaped over bushes, running to the creek by my family farm. Before I reached it, something ran into me, knocking me down. I growled and stood, staring down the wolf who stopped me.  The wolf was grey, so I knew it wasn’t one from our pack or an Alpha. The wolf licked its lips and started towards me, and I shifted into my human form, trying to keep the wolf away from me. He shifted as well, and I recognized the man from earlier that same day.

“Well, well…” he smirked as he advanced towards me, the moonlight glinting off his bare skin.  “Finally, I get to finish what I started.” I growled and backed away from him, trying to think my way out of this.

I turned to run in the opposite direction, but he caught my arm before I could take a single step.  He shoved me down into the ground, and I tried to crawl away, but his grip on my hips was strong. All throughout the woods, I could hear screams and cries mixed with with the sounds of growls, snarls, and howls.  I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst until an idea popped into my head. I shifted instantly and turned on the man, aiming for the throat. When he shifted into a wolf to counter my sudden attack, I shifted back into a human and leaped into the nearest tree, far from his reach.

He was about to shift back when an arrow suddenly flew from somewhere in the woods, hitting him in the ribs.  The wolf yelped in agony and turned in the direction the arrow had come from. Several men came out from the dark, armed to the teeth with weapons.  Hunters…

I whimpered and hid myself among the branches while the wolf charged at them.  Two of the men advanced, swords drawn, while another notched another arrow. The wolf tackled one of the men, tearing out his throat, but he was stopped short with another arrow.  This one went into his throat. The wolf fell dead in his tracks, and the men beheaded him for good measure. I covered my mouth, trying not to make a sound. The hunters dragged off the corpse, still in wolf form, laughing and joking to themselves.  Among them was a smaller hunter, who knelt down beside the corpse. The other hunters laughed at him.

“Adam, are you crying over the dead wolf?” one asked.  The younger one, Adam, shook his head.

“I don’t think it’s right killing them like this,” he said.  “They haven’t done anything wrong, and they’re still pretty far from the village.”  Another man shook his head.

“We could hear them from the village for the last several days,” he scoffed.  “They’re scaring the livestock, and they could move our way any day now. We have to take them out while we can.”  Adam shook his head.

“It still seems wrong,” he murmured.  The others shook their heads as they continued on their way through the woods.  Even after they had left, I stayed in the tree, hidden by the branches. From the village, I heard several shouts, and lights approached my hiding place.  Among them was Darius.

“Return to the village!” he called out to everyone they came across.  He froze when he saw the blood at the base of the tree and looked around.  “They killed one of ours…” He knelt down to examine the puddle of blood. He then looked around.  “Where is she?” Gabriel frowned and looked at him.

“Where’s who?” he asked, and Darius looked at him.

“The wolf they killed was with a female from your pack,” he warned.  “Where is she?” I started down the tree.

“I’m right here,” I said as I slid down the trunk from the lowest branch.  The air was cold, and I was still shaking in fear from what I had seen. Both Alphas, as well as their men, all stared at me in silence as I shivered before them.  Finally, Darius broke the silence.

“What happened?” he asked, his voice suddenly filled with concern.  I swallowed hard and looked down at the puddle.

“He tried to catch me,” I started, and he tensed in anger, making me cringe.  “He almost caught me, but I climbed the tree to get away. He was about to climb up after me when they came from the woods, and they…  They…” At that point, the reality of what had happened hit me, and I collapsed to my knees. “He didn’t even get a chance… They’ve never come at us like this before…”  Darius snapped his fingers, and one of his men brought him a cloak, which he draped around me. He then turned to Gabriel.

“He may not have been part of my pack, but he was one of us all the same,” he growled.  “These humans had no right killing one of ours.” Gabriel nodded in agreement then turned to one of his men.

“Take her to the village at once,” he started, but Darius stopped him.

“I would like to keep an eye on her,” he said, and Gabriel nodded.

“Have your men go back and rest then,” he started. Despite the growl of annoyance he received.  “Tomorrow, we will have an emergency meeting about these humans.” Darius nodded then turned back to me.

“Can you stand?” he asked gently.  I stood up, testing my strength, but I nearly fell at the first step.  He caught me and picked me up. “Guess not.” As he carried me, I realized we were heading towards the village.

“My home’s that way,” I said softly, but he didn’t respond.  Fearing the humans would venture too close to the farm, I squirmed a little.  “I have to make sure Mother and Father are alright. If the humans get them…” Darius tightened his grip, holding me closer to him.

“We already brought them to the village,” he reassured me.  “We made sure they’re safe.” I nodded and relaxed a little.  When we arrived at the village, he put me down, and Mother ran up to me.

“Hanna!” she called out as she hugged me.  “Thank the Moon Goddess you’re okay!” She kept hugging me, and I tried to pull away.

“Where’s Father?” I asked, and she looked at me.

“He’s in the inn, resting,” she said.  “Moving him into the village took a lot of energy.”  I sighed in relief as she examined me. “What happened?”  I was about to respond when Darius put a hand on my shoulder.

“Sorry, miss, but she needs to rest,” he said in a stern voice, and she nodded.  He then turned to me. “You’ll be staying in my room tonight.” I gulped and looked at Mother, who nodded.  I then nodded and followed him to his room. He was silent the whole way there, but, when we got there, he turned to me.  "Did that male touch you?" I shook my head.

“No,” I half whispered, and he nodded.

“Did the humans see you?”  Again, I shook my head, and he nodded.  “You were smart to use your human form to escape and even smarter to climb the tree.”  He growled in annoyance as he sat down on the bed. “I never should have recommended you go on the midnight run.”  Surprised, I tilted my head at him in confusion, but I never said a word, afraid of what he would do if I talked out of line.  “Who knows what would have happened if the humans found you out there?” I shivered in fear at the thought of it myself, and he frowned a little.  “Are you cold still?” The sudden concern in his voice made me hesitate, but I finally nodded, and he growled in annoyance. “Talk already! I’m tired of this one sided conversation.”  I gulped and lowered my gaze.

“Yes, I’m cold,” I breathed.  He sighed and stood up. When I was within reach, he put his hands on my shoulders and stared into my eyes.

“Look, it’s been a long night already, and I’m sure you’re tired,” he said.  “You take the bed, and I’ll sleep on the chair here.” My level of surprise escalated further, and I forgot my place.

“You mean that you won’t be…?” I started before I caught myself.  “I mean, we aren’t going to…?” The words continued to stick to my throat, and I blushed at my lack of conversation.  He c****d an eyebrow at me and smirked slyly.

“I didn’t think it appropriate after everything that happened tonight,” he smirked.  “Besides, until this ordeal with the humans is settled, Mating Season has been put on hold.  Even Alphas have to follow their own rules.” I nodded and, as the wave of exhaustion overcame me, I threw back the sheets, collapsed on the bed, and was out before I had the chance to cover myself.