MOONLIT SECRETS

Here is Chapter One of Moonlit Secrets titled: Marked by the Moon! The forest wasn’t supposed to feel like this… it was meant to be quiet, sacred-her refuge after long hours cataloging injured wildlife and avoiding the pitying stares of co-campers. But tonight, it throbbed with something primal, wild, wrong! The forest breathed around her like a living thing-slow, deep, and watching. Elena Maren gripped the strap of her backpack tighter, her boots crunching over pine needles as she followed the trail back toward her camp truck. Dusk has fallen too quickly. The sky shed violet through the branches overhead, and the deeper she went, the more the trees seemed to whisper. She’d stayed out too long-again. Tracking the wounded wolf had consumed hours of her time. She hadn’t found it, just a faint trail of blood and claw marks etched deep into the barks of the trees. But something else found her. She wasn’t alone, she could feel it. Every strand of hair on her body stood on the end, and the air… it pulsed with heat and with power. She turned. At first there was nothing. Just the swaying trees and the hush of the wind and the coming night. Then-eyes! GOLD! GLOWING! Piercing through the dark like twin moons. Her breath caught. Her body froze. The shape emerged slowly from the shadows. A figure moved through the trees-graceful, huge, and barely restrained. Moonlight sliced through the canopy just enough to reveal him. Tall, broad, shirtless, covered in thin trails of blood and dirt as if he’d been clawing his way through the earth. Not a wolf? Not a man? Something in between. Towering, muscled, bare-chested, muscles ripped beneath skin kissed bronze by the sun. A jagged scar carved down one side of his ribs, leading the eye straight to the sharp cut in his abdomen and the trail that disappeared below the low hanging of his pants. He looked like sin wrapped in moonlight. He stepped into the dying light. And oh God! Her heart thundered in her chest. Not out of fear-but something far more dangerous. The man was beautiful in the way fire is beautiful-untouchable, wild, and aching to consume at sight. His eyes locked into hers in a warm stare. He didn’t speak, didn’t move, neither did Elena. “ELENA”, he called out finally, his voice a deep rumble that poured shivers down her spine and curled down like smoke. Her name had never sounded like that. Like a promise. Like a possession, Like the future. She swallowed hard. "Do I know you?” “Not yet.” He responded and stepped even closer. One long, deliberate step forward. Something inside her quivered. Some instinct that had absolutely nothing to do with logic and everything to do with him. “Stay where you are,” she said while raising her hand, trying to summon strength she didn’t feel nor have. Did he listen? Of course, he didn’t. “What the hell are you talking about?” His eyes darkened, gold flickering like wildfire. “You feel it too?” Don’t lie! She backed away, one step, then another. But the woods behind her were thick. Trapping. “I don’t even know who you are” she whispered. “You are mine,” he responded. Her blood turned to ice-and fire. “I’m not anyone',” she snapped, her voice sharp despite the way her thighs clenched with need. His expressions didn’t change. But there was something in his eyes now. Pain, Hunger, Longing, Lust. “The Moon chose you. I’ve waited for you. And now, “I’ve found you”. Her skin burned beneath the contact. Her breath hitched. “I’m not one of your wolf groupies,” she said hoarsely, shoving his hand away and rolling her eyes. “I don’t believe in fate." ” But even as she said it, her body betrayed her words. Her chest ached. Her pulse pounded. Every inch of her screamed liar . “I didn’t choose this either,” he said quietly. But I can’t undo it. You’re my mate.” MATE! The words cracked through her like lightening. She stared at him, stunned. “No” she whispered. “No you are not… this can’t be real.” But it was. God help her-it was. His palmed pressed to the tree beside her head, trapping her, staring deeply into her eyes…” I’m bonded” he said. Then he leaned in. His lips hovered over hers-close enough that she felt the heat of him, the warmth of his breath, the promise of his mouth. And she hated how much she wanted him to close the distance. “You want to taste it,” he said lowly. The thing between us. I can feel it burning in you. You think I don’t smell your desire?” Elena’s cheeks flamed. “Don’t!” But her words were choked off when his nose brushed against her neck. He inhaled slowly-so low he felt her pulse everywhere. “You smell like mine,” he rasped. His other hand slid down her waist, feather-light, lingering just at the hem of her shirt. His touch didn’t feel invasive-it felt right, even as her mind screamed in disagreement. Her thighs clenched. Her n*****s tightened against her bra. She hated him for making her body betray her. “I don’t even know your name,” she whispered, almost breathless. “RONAN.” He said it like it meant something…and it did. Because the moment she spoke it, something ancient stirred in her chest-something old and buried and terrifying. “Ronan,” she called out. Her fingers curled against his chest before she realized she’d moved. His skin was warm. His heartbeat was thunder. “Tell me to stop,” he said roughly, his voice thick with restraint. “Say the word and I will.” But her lips parted. And no sound came out. His mouth claimed hers in the next breath. It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t sweet. It was needed. His lips devoured hers, his tongue slipping past her defenses like he’d been waiting forever for this. And maybe he had. She moaned against him-helpless, aching, lost. Her hands fisted in the air. His body pressed towards hers-solid, hot, and overwhelming. Their kiss was like wildfire. Her hands tangled in his hair; he gripped her waist like she might vanish. Words were forgotten, clothing fell away like autumn leaves. They came together on a bed of moss and moonlight, primal and breathless, intimacy at its peak. Their bodies moved in perfect rhythm, as if guided by some ancient and unspoken force. She gasped at his name: “Ronan” and he whispered hers like a prayer. The bond sealed, even as doubt crept on the walls of her mind. After the moon bathed their bare skin, she pulled away. Both of them were gasping. “Don’t be afraid of what you are,” he said. “You are mine, Elena. You were always mine.” And then he stepped back. His chest heaved. His hands trembled. “I can’t do this,” Elena whispered. Ronan’s chest rose and fell in huge disbelief. “You’re mine,” he called out again. “I don’t want to be,” she said, her voice cracking. This bond-whatever it is-I didn’t ask for it. I won't be claimed for any prize. Her eyes swelled with tears. “That’s why I have to leave”. “You’re rejecting me?” he asked, barely believing the words that proceeded out of her mouth. “I have to.” A long silence broke out in the atmosphere. The woods stood still, the cool breeze took a pause and the moon froze, trying to understand the tension displayed. Then, without another word, Ronan shifted, bones cracked, fur rippled, eyes sorrowful in absolute disappointment. In seconds, a massive black wolf stood before her. He turned and vanished into the night. Elena sank to her knees, and cried her heart out, unaware of the tiny spark of life that now bloomed quietly within her womb. What will become of Elena now? Will Ronan ever come back? What will the spark in Elena spring forth?... Find out this and more in chapter two!