Chapter Two
1384 Words
"Come," Damien commanded, extending his hand toward me. "You're injured and the water is freezing."
I hesitated, still standing waist-deep in the lake that no longer felt cold. My skin still glowed faintly silver, and I could feel his eyes tracking the light as it pulsed with my heartbeat.
"I won't hurt you," he added, and something in his voice, a rawness, a barely controlled need, made me believe him.
The moment my hand touched his, electricity shot through my entire body. The mate bond roared to life fully, and I heard him inhale sharply. His hand was massive, easily engulfing mine, and warm despite the shadows that seemed to writhe around him.
He pulled me from the water in one smooth motion, and I became acutely aware of how my wet clothes clung to my body. His eyes darkened, but he immediately shrugged off his jacket and wrapped it around me. It smelled like him, pine and smoke and danger.
"The glow," I said, staring at my hands. "What's happening to me?"
"I don't know," he admitted, studying me with an intensity that should have been frightening. "But you're not a normal omega. Your scent..." He leaned closer, and I forgot how to breathe. "There's power in it. Ancient power."
"I don't have a wolf," I said quickly. "I've never shifted. That's why I was rejected."
His eyes flashed red, definitely not a normal Alpha reaction. "Who rejected you?"
"It doesn't matter"
"Name." The command in his voice was absolute.
"Ethan Blackwood. Alpha of Silvermoon."
The shadows around him darkened, spreading across the ground like spilled ink. "He rejected his true mate for power?"
"For Veronica Ashford. She's stronger, from a better family"
"She's nothing compared to you." The certainty in his voice made my cheeks burn. "Can you walk?"
I nodded, though my legs felt shaky. He noticed, of course he noticed, and before I could protest, he swept me up into his arms.
"I can walk!" I protested, even as my traitorous body relaxed against his chest.
"You're injured, exhausted, and in shock," he said, already moving through the forest with supernatural grace. "And you're my mate. I protect what's mine."
The possessiveness should have frightened me. Hours ago, another Alpha had thrown me away like garbage. But something about Damien felt different, dangerous, yes, but not to me.
"The curse," I said as we moved deeper into Bloodstone territory. "The stories about you…"
"Are mostly true," he finished. "Does that frighten you?"
I considered lying, but something told me he'd know. "Yes. But not as much as it should."
His arms tightened around me slightly. "Smart little moon wolf."
"Moon wolf?"
"Your eyes, your glow. You're connected to lunar power somehow." We emerged from the forest, and I gasped.
The Bloodstone Pack compound wasn't what I expected. Instead of the militaristic structure of Silvermoon, buildings seemed to grow from the landscape itself, stone and wood and glass blending seamlessly with massive trees. It was wild and beautiful and utterly unlike anything I'd seen.
"Alpha," a woman appeared, tall, scarred, with eyes like chips of ice. "You brought…" She stopped, nostrils flaring. "Your mate?"
"Aria, this is Selene, my beta. Selene, call Theo. Our new Luna needs medical attention."
Luna. The title I'd never thought I'd hear associated with my name made my head spin.
"I'm not…we haven't…"
"Rest," Damien said, carrying me into what was clearly the pack house. "We'll discuss everything after you're healed."
The interior was all dark wood and stone, masculine but warm. He carried me to a room that could only be his, it was saturated with his scent, making my inner omega (did I even have one without a wolf?) purr with contentment.
He set me gently on the massive bed, and I immediately missed his warmth. "Theo will be here soon. He's our healer."
"Why are you being so kind to me?" The question slipped out before I could stop it. "You don't know me. I could be weak, useless…"
"Stop." The command was gentle but firm. "Whatever Silvermoon taught you about yourself is wrong."
A knock interrupted us, and a younger man entered. Theo, I assumed. He had gentle eyes and an easy smile that immediately put me at ease.
"So you're the one who has our Alpha tied in knots," he said, ignoring Damien's growl. "Let's see what we're working with."
He examined my injuries, minor cuts and bruises from the rogues, but frowned when he touched my skin. "Your temperature is elevated, but not from fever. And there's... energy. Raw magical energy." He looked at Damien. "She's awakening."
"Awakening?"
"Sometimes," Theo explained, cleaning my wounds, "traumatic breaks can trigger dormant power. The rejection might have actually freed something that was being suppressed."
"By the mate bond?"
"By the wrong mate bond," Damien corrected, his voice hard. "A true mate bond enhances. It doesn't diminish."
Our eyes met, and the air crackled between us. The healer cleared his throat. "I'll leave you two alone. She needs rest, Alpha. And food."
After he left, Damien moved to the fireplace, his back to me. The shadows that clung to him seemed more agitated now, reaching toward me before being pulled back.
"The curse," I said. "Will it affect me? As your mate?"
He turned, and in the firelight, I could see the pain in his eyes. "It might. That's why I should reject you. Send you away before…"
"No." The word came out forcefully, surprising us both. "I've been rejected once today. Don't you dare do it out of some misguided protection."
He crossed to me in two strides, caging me against the headboard with his arms. "You don't understand what you're risking. The curse, it hungers. It destroys. Everyone I've ever cared about"
"Then tell me," I challenged, meeting his intense gaze. "Tell me about the curse."
He sat on the bed's edge, careful not to touch me. "Ten years ago, I killed a witch's son. He was trafficking young wolves, selling them to hunters. It was justified, but she didn't care. She cursed me with shadow and hunger, I can't fully control my wolf, and the shadows... they feed on violence, on rage. The more I fight, the stronger they become."
"And if you don't fight?"
"They turn inward." He held up his hand, and I saw the shadows eating at his skin like acid. "It's killing me slowly."
Without thinking, I reached out and took his hand. The moment our skin touched, silver light erupted from my palm. The shadows recoiled, and Damien gasped.
"It doesn't hurt," he said, wonder in his voice. "Your light… it pushes them back without pain."
We both stared at our joined hands, his darkness, my light, swirling together like opposing forces finding balance.
"Maybe," I said softly, "we're meant to save each other."
Before he could respond, a howl pierced the night, long, mournful, and wrong somehow.
Damien was on his feet instantly. "Stay here."
"What is it?"
"Rogues. But not normal ones." His eyes went fully red. "Someone's sending a message."
Another howl, closer this time. Then another. They were surrounded.
Selene burst through the door. "Alpha, we're under attack. At least thirty rogues, and they're... enhanced somehow. Faster, stronger."
"Protect her," Damien ordered, but I stood.
"I'm not hiding while people fight for me."
"You're injured…"
The window exploded inward, and a massive wolf landed in the room, scarred, rabid-looking, with eyes that glowed sickly green. It lunged for me.
Damien moved impossibly fast, shifting mid-air and colliding with the rogue. But more were coming through the window.
"Luna, get back!" Selene shifted, a beautiful silver wolf, and engaged two rogues at once.
I backed against the wall, weaponless and wolfless, as another rogue stalked toward me. Its teeth were bared, saliva dripping, and I knew I was about to die.
Then the rage hit me. Not fear, rage. How dare they attack my mate's pack? How dare they threaten what was mine?
The silver light exploded from me, so bright the rogues howled and stumbled back. But this time, it wasn't just light. Power, raw and ancient, flooded through me.
My bones began to crack and reshape.
"Impossible," I heard Selene gasp.
I was shifting. After twenty-five years, I was finally shifting.
- Writer
