Gypsy Moon

Chapter Twenty-seven: Sinah

. . . . . . (early July)

Aiden's angry shouting woke me up. I could feel his rage through our link and swung my legs out of the bed, shrugging on a robe.

/:Our mate has it covered, you should take a bath or we will be sore.:/

/:Selene? What happened?:/

/:Rhys is furious. Won't tell me anything, other than that it's being handled.:/

"Bath it is then." I spoke out loud and turned towards the bathroom, running a hot bath.

/:Hey, Lilian?:/

/:Oh! Sorry Sinah, still not used to this.:/

/:Me either. What's going on?:/

/:I'm blowing stacks of cash with Beta Mike; Kyle should be here in like two hours-ish. Want anything?:/

/:Double shot caramel latte?:/

/:Yes Luna.:/ I felt her giggle before she closed the link. I sank into the tub until the water covered my upper lip and felt my muscles start to relax.

/:Do you think our mate will want pups right away?:/ I snorted bathwater up my nose and spent the next few minutes trying to get the soapy residue out of my sinuses.

/:Selene! I'm only nineteen!:/

/:Pfft, if we had met him when we were supposed to, we could have had three pups already.:/

/:How many kids do you want?!:/

/:I think my records are eleven while bonded with a human, and twenty-eight as an unbonded wolf.:/

/:We are NOT trying for a new record, no way.:/

/:Party pooper.:/ I rolled my eyes and soaked in the bath for about half an hour before I decided I wanted to try to go for a run in my wolf form and I jumped out of the tub and toweled off. I threw on an oversized t-shirt and some leggings and skipped downstairs to find my mate.

I found him in the common room, frowning absently out a window while eating an apple. I slid my arms around his waist from behind and watched his frown dissolve into a warm smile as he turned and scooped me up into a hug.

"Yes, my beloved?"

"I was taking a bath and I remembered something." He raised his eyebrows in suggestion. "No, I would have to forget THAT, before I can remember it." He lowered his head to my shoulder and took a long, deep breath.

"So, what did you remember while bathing?"

"I haven't gone on my first run as a wolf yet. Will you go with me?" His face split into a huge grin.

"Baby, I would like nothing more right now." He carried me outside. I didn't complain, I could feel he was still upset about whatever had happened earlier and wanted me close to him. He set me on a bench in front of the training circle and pulled his shirt over his head. I took the opportunity to admire my gorgeous mate's body in the sun. He sniffed the air and shot me a smoldering look that made me blush.

"Hush you." He smiled at me as I pretended that he didn't just catch me getting turned on again. He shed his pants and shifted fluidly, shaking his long, pale golden fur after he finished the shift. His wolf towered over me, and he huffed a deep breath at me, letting his tongue loll out the side of his muzzle.

I pulled off my leggings and took a deep breath before I pulled off my shirt. Selene joined me as soon as I felt the breeze on my bare skin. The shift was slightly uncomfortable, particularly on our hands and feet. We shook out our fur much the same way our mate had when we finished the shift.

We could feel our mate staring at us and we lifted our head and tail proudly, showing off our shimmery silver fur in the late afternoon sun. We were almost as tall as our mate, very large for a she-wolf, particularly since we weren't Alpha blood. Our mate made a quick huffling noise, they were laughing.

/:No stealth for you either, we see.:/ We just shook our head at him and took a couple awkward steps, trying to get used to our wolf form. Our mate kept pace with us easily as we started towards the river, gaining speed as we gained confidence until we were a pair of metallic streaks bounding around the woods.

Forty-five minutes later, we finally made our way back to the packhouse and shifted back, pulling our clothes back on and laughing.

"Man, I have NO endurance."

"Not as bad as it could have been, with you stuck in a wheelchair for three years. You kept in great shape the whole time."

"Mm-hmm. I got an old warrior to work out with me every other day, it kept us both active. Lilian would work out with us too. She can kick some serious ass for a human, he liked working combat training into our workouts." Aiden nodded and his eyes clouded over. He blinked and shook his head with a smile.

"Lilian and Mike are on the way back." He turned towards the packhouse as the front door opened. Bryce came out and waited for us on the porch, his eyes dark. I watched Aiden's frown reclaim his face and he vaulted the porch rail, landing next to Bryce.

"The girl will heal, physically. He's a f*****g monster. I am praying she rejects him so we can bury him alive." I blinked at the harshness of his voice. I could see Bryce was sharing something with Aiden through a mind link and their combined rage was like a physical barrier.

"May I ask what happened?" Aiden grabbed me roughly and buried his face in my neck, breathing hard for several minutes. Bryce rested his head against my opposite shoulder and struggled to calm down.

"A young wolf abused his new mate, unforgivably." I understood their anger instantly, my own eyes flashed black.

"You guys go blow off some steam, I'll handle things until Lilian and Beta Mike get back with my coffee." They both let out angry chuckles and both kissed my forehead before stripping off their shirts and heading to the training circle to spar. As much as I wanted to stand there and watch them work out, I pivoted on my heel and stomped into the packhouse.

/:Wait, go to the girl first.:/ I blinked and turned towards the infirmary. I wanted to go to the dungeon and slap the boy, but Selene's suggestion was more productive, if less cathartic. I took a deep breath and stepped into the infirmary, following the soft sound of chatter in one of the rooms. A pair of nurses were standing in the hallway, one looked like she was trying not to involuntarily shift, the other was sniffling and wiping tears off her face.

"What happened?" The crying nurse sniffled and turned to me.

"Poor little girl, just a slip of a thing, and her mate..." The angry nurse growled.

"f*****g monster doesn't deserve to be alive, let alone her mate." I nodded grimly.

"I would like to speak with her for a moment." They both nodded and walked away. I pushed open the door and looked at the girl on the bed.

Her wrists and arms were purple with bruises and rope lines. She stared blankly out the window and jumped a little when I stepped up to the edge of her bed.

"Oh! L-Luna!" I smiled at her warmly.

"Calm down, I didn't mean to startle you. My wolf wanted to see you, is that okay?" She nodded and I could feel Selene reaching out to the girl. Her eyes clouded over as Selene linked to her wolf. A wave of hate and despair shot through me before Selene could block the bleed through.

/:Oh this girl is NOT okay. I need to borrow our body for a minute.:/

/:Wha-:/

And then I blacked out.

. . . . . .