DARK MOON

CHAPTER TWO

They were here.

I was standing in front of the pack house beside my parents. The enforcers were behind us. Beta Thorn and Beta Sin stood behind my father and Beta Scylla and Beta Lydia stood with my mother. Force and Celia stood behind me. Celia was my friend and bodyguard and Force too. Force trained with me and made sure I was strong and he was my own personal guard.

The council members stood to the side. There were four of them. Winslow was the head of enforcers, Cara was witch head, Marian was the head healer and Jane and Brandon were heads of welfare.

Other pack members stood behind the enforcers. It was customary for the entire pack to welcome another Alpha and Dark Moon park was a suckler for following the rules. The people from mind prey were walking towards us now. They had come with a procession of about five cars. I knew that most of the cars would hold enforcers.

I could see ten people walking towards us and I wiped my sweaty palms over my dress. f**k. I was nervous. Scenda had done an amazing job with me. A maroon gown bedazzled with gems that complemented by tan skin and hazel-green eyes wonderfully. The gown had a halter neck and an open back so that my tattoo was on display. My silver hair was packed into intricate braids wrapping around my head. I had no necklace on but my emerald earrings made up for it. My legs were adorned in black stilettos. Scenda had used maroon eyeshadow to do a smokey eye for me. She had dressed me up to catch and hold attention and I was curious how Rowan would react to me.

As if my thoughts had materialized him, his entourage appeared in front of us. I counted six men and four women. They were as dressed up as we were. The tallest of them all walked in front and I knew that it was Rowan. My breath caught in my throat as I took him in. Goddess. He was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen.

He turned those eyes at me and I forgot how to breathe.

Dark red eyes that looked like pools of blood. I’d heard of Alphas who had wolves so strong that they had to manifest in their human bodies but I’d never seen it till today. Rowan had the eyes of a predator and I wanted to get lost in them. He was probably around six feet four inches, and even in heels that made me five nine, I knew without doubt that he would tower over me. His face was almost feminine in its beauty but his strong jaws showed that this was a man’s face. His suit hugged his frame and I could see the outline of muscles trapped underneath it. His hair was cut close to his scalp in a buzzcut as if he couldn’t be bothered to do anything with it.

He smirked at me and I turned away blushing. I’d been staring like a fool. We went through the introductions and I got to know that the five other men were his betas and enforcers.. Three of them were mated and the fourth unmated one was his head enforcer. Cyril was his name and it was the only name I could remember. I thought ‘I’d have enough time to learn all their names’ and it bothered me but I brushed it away.

The party moved inside and the cooks had outdone themselves. There were spreads of different appetizers, entrees and deserts. People always ate at these events and they made sure there were options for everyone.

I was standing with my parents and Rowan was opposite us with Cyril and one of the other men. Cyril was taller than Rowan and broader, as if he spent all his time expanding his muscles. He looked every bit like the enforcer he was.

“Alpha Rowan of Mind Prey pack, we welcome you to our home.” My father and Rowan stepped forward, clasped hands and held their forehead to touch. It was the customary greeting to give a visiting Alpha to show that you respected them as an equal and welcomed them to your home without malice. If Rowan had had his Luna, she would have exchanged the same greeting with my mother. And with a jolt, I realized that I was about to become that person for Rowan.

“Alpha Thomas of Dark Moon pack, I thank you for your welcome.” They separated and there was a hint of a smile on their faces. Rowan was a young Alpha at thirty two but he was respected by everyone because he had put in the work.

“I present my daughter, Anna-May Thomas of Dark Moon pack to you,” My mother held my hands in hers and handed me to Rowan. The moment our hands touched, something happened between us and I gasped and let his hand go. My wolf rose lazily behind my eyes and blinked at Rowan’s wolf. Through my wolf’s eyes, I could see Rowan’s and what a magnificent beast he was.

He took my hand again and the same thing happened but it was milder this time. His eyes captured mine as he raised my hand to his mouth and kissed me. My breath was caught in my throat as I stared at him with wide eyes.

“Anna-May. Beautiful name.”

“Thank you, Alpha.”

“Please, call me Rowan.” I nodded at him and he flashed me a smile. Goddess save me. I needed to snap out of this. Why was he affecting me so much? By the time we moved away from each other, everyone else had scattered. I guess we had to get to know each other. Rowan held his arm out to me and I smiled and took it.

Claps erupted around us. Another formality. Me taking Rowan’s arm meant I accepted him as a potential mate. He led me away from the crowd and we sat by the table of deserts. I saw a red velvet cake and ignored my future mate. I had to have it. I grabbed a plate and put a big serving of the cake on it and got to eating it. Flavour exploded on my tongue and I moaned. So good. I heard a chuckle and turned to look at Rowan with red cheeks. Why was I blushing so much?

“I think you like cake very much.” he said and I nodded.

“I’m sorry. I just had to have it. You should try some for yourself. You’d get it.”

“Okay then.” Rowan’s hands were folded together and he stared at me expectedly. Oh goddess. He wanted me to feed it to him. I cut a bite and raised it to his mouth and with eyes locked onto mine, he ate it. I watched him chew and swallow, those lips moving delicately and I wanted to know what his mouth tasted like.

I could feel that the lower part of my body became heavier with arousal and Rowan's eyes looked down at my chest. Following his gaze, I saw how my n*****s had turned into peaks.

Fuck. I stood and walked briskly to the balcony and heard him behind me. What was happening to me? We were practically strangers and I'd never reacted to anyone like it. It was so unlike me that it made me uncomfortable.

“You didn't like seeing yourself react to me like that.” He didn't bother making it a question. It was a statement, and it was true.

“We're strangers. I know that we'd soon be mated and it's hanging over my head but I don't know anything about you and it makes me uncomfortable. I trust my parents' judgment and know that you'd be a great partner. But we're practically strangers. I don't like that.”

“I think I understand that. How do you want us to do this then?” I glanced up at him.

“Do what?”

“Get to know each other. How would you like to do that? I know the circumstances surrounding our mating are not the greatest. You're making a sacrifice to protect your pack and mine. And I want to make this work between us. So how would you want us to do it?” I stared at him with wide eyes, caught off guard by the words he was saying. I had expected some form of resistance or opposition. I hadn't expected that he wanted to make things work between us.

For the first time since I heard that I was to make him six months ago, I was suddenly hopeful that we could make things work between us. I flashed a smile at him.

I scanned the crowd for Celia because I knew she wouldn't be far from me and when I saw her, I signaled her over. I took off my earrings, shoes and slipped off my gown. I heard Rowan take a deep breath behind me but ignored him. My wolf perked inside me when she caught up to what I wanted us to do. I turned to Rowan and smirked.

“Catch me if you can.” Then before he could say anything, I leapt over the balcony and landed as my wolf. I turned back and saw the dark look of delight in his eyes as he hurriedly stripped off his suit and took off before he could finish.

I ran towards the forest that bordered our pack. If I could get inside before he left, I could hide from him. I ran as fast as my legs could carry me, leaping over fallen trees and making no sound. This forest was my land and I'd ran in it so many times that I couldn't keep count. My wolf knew how to run in it without making any sound. I heard a growl behind me and bared my teeth in a wolfy grin.

My sense of smell was much better in this form and the smell of oak and musk and cedarwood drifted to me. I had caught the scent on him earlier and had thought it was his cologne but I knew better now. It was just him. Somehow, the scent fit him. Masculine and hard. My ears perked up and the forest was quiet. I had gotten distracted. My wolf huddled behind a tree and we searched the forest for signs of him. Maybe he’d lost us. We had to go and find him.

The hair on the back of my neck stood up and before I could turn, Rowan’s wolf leapt up behind me and trapped me between him and the tree. His eyes had been beautiful but in this form, they were magnificent. The red had gold that I hadn’t noticed earlier. Against the black of his fur, they shined bright in the dark. He bared his teeth at me as if saying ‘got you’, and I snarled at him. He thought he had me trapped but he was about to be surprised. His wolf was the size of a small pony. I wasn’t as big as he was and that meant I could dart between his legs and escape. And that was exactly what I did.

He growled and chased after me and this time, he nipped me lightly on my hind leg. I fell onto the forest floor and rolled over to stare at him. I wanted to talk to him like this but knew it couldn’t happen till we forged a bond between us.

I shifted back to human form and he loomed over me, large and dark against the night. His eyes dropped down and traced my neck down to my hips. I could feel the heat in them as I looked at him. His eyes held that heat of lust all men had. As if they wanted to consume you. So dark and dangerous. Goosebumps rose on my skin and my n*****s hardened into points. With no clothes to hide them now, his eyes locked onto them. He pushed me back till my back was flush against the foliage and licked at my neck. I giggled and ran my hands over his fur.

“You caught me. What are you going to do with me?” His tongue licked a n****e and I shuddered. Rowan shifted back to human and my naked body was suddenly very aware that there was a naked male above us.

His eyes were like pools of sun and as his head dipped towards me, all I could think of was how nice it would be to get lost in them.