Black Moon Rising

Chapter 8

Jasmine POV

Today was amazing. I couldn’t even believe that I had gotten my first kiss and that it was like that. I can’t lie, I was very attracted to him. Whether that was the mate bond or not, I’m not sure. He felt right. And I could tell that he was sincere in his care for me. It was nice to have that again now that my mom is gone.

I was a bit disappointed that he had to cut the day short, and handle whatever business needed his attention. Okay, a lot disappointed. I wanted to spend more time with him. At least I have Petra to keep me company. She has been grilling me for the last 30 minutes about what happened, squealing when I admitted that we kissed.

“That little rascal, I didn’t think he had it in him. I’m so freaking excited for you both!” Petra squealed.

“Little rascal? I don’t think those two words have ever crossed my mind when thinking of him,” I responded, laughing.

“Honey, you didn’t know him growing up like we did. He was not always that tall, muscular, and handsome. He used to be a string bean, all arms and legs. Be thankful you don’t remember him in his teenage years, it was painful to watch,” Petra scrunched up her nose and shook her head. “You want to talk about a glow up, Carter is the poster child. One day, I’m going to take you to meet my parents and you can see all the pictures for yourself.”

All of this talk got me thinking again about my necklace and I instinctively reached for it, rolling it around between my fingers. After thinking about it all day today, I was starting to think that taking it off was the right thing to do. My mom died to protect me, but she didn’t anticipate what the moon goddess had destined me to become. If the type of powers the Moon Goddess spoke of were truly what I could possess, they would protect me better than a bewitched necklace would.

Brennan entered the tent, breaking me out of my thoughts. “We need to get packed up again. An old friend of Carter’s dad has agreed to take us in while we try and figure things out. The pack warriors are here to escort us back to their pack and ensure our safety.”

“Oh, okay, that's great! Let me go back to Carter’s tent then,” I said awkwardly, backing out of Petra’s tent.

“Wait!” Petra said. She grabbed a small bag and put Carter's belongings in it before zipping it up and handing it to me. “Here’s the rest of his things that he had here.”

I thanked her and walked back to Carter’s tent, not quite sure what to do. I had nothing of my own and I am not sure if Carter wanted me to pack up his things or not.

I pulled the flap back and walked into his tent, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw that he was already inside. He gave me a tight smile, pointing to a giant suitcase in the corner of the tent. “I had a few pack members run back to your house and grab some of your things. I hope that’s okay.”

I stood there stunned for a moment before recovering and saying “That’s fine. Thank you, I really appreciate that.” He turned around and continued to pack up his things. I walked to my suitcase and opened it up, tears building up as I noticed the first thing sitting on the top. My mother’s jewelry box. Sitting below that was my photo album wrapped in my mom’s favorite blanket. Tears rolled silently down my cheeks as my fingers brushed my mom’s blanket, imagining all the times I stole it from her room and wrapped myself in it for comfort.

“Thank you,” my voice croaked, barely above a whisper. He stood up and walked to me, wrapping his arms around me. I wrapped my arms around him and laid my head on his chest, listening to his heart beat.

“All those nights I saw you wrapped up in that blanket, I knew you couldn’t leave it behind,” he lifted up my chin, his eyes boring into mine. “I know I can’t bring her back or replace her, but I will do everything I can to ease the ache in your heart so everyday becomes a little easier to live through.” He leaned down and gave me a soft kiss on my mouth. This man was absolutely incredible.

“Now,” he said, pulling back and looking me in my eye. “Before we leave this tent, I need to ask something of you.” I was silent, waiting for him to continue. “ These warriors are from Alpha Alexi’s pack. He was a good friend of my father but something feels off about all of this. When we spoke, he agreed to allow us to stay with him. I told him we needed a few days to get things sorted out and make our way to him, so I am confused why he would send wolves to come get us within a few hours of talking. I want you to stay with me. Something isn’t right but we aren’t in the position to turn down help; we can’t camp out here forever.”

I nodded my head, suddenly nervous. “Can you trust him?”

“My father trusted him, so I don’t see why not. It’s probably nothing.”

We quickly finished packing up the rest of the tent and walked to where the rest of the group was congregating. Seven SUVs were parked just off a dirt road waiting to take us to Alpha Alexi’s pack.

One of the men spotted Carter and walked over. “Carter,” he said curtly, shaking his hand. “I’m Stefan. Is everyone ready to go?” He looked over at me, a strange look moving over his face before disappearing.

The look was not lost on Carter, who stepped in front of me protectively. His eyes glazed over for a moment, Brennan materializing a few seconds later. Petra was standing at his side.

“I can speak for Carter and say that yes, everyone is ready to go.” He turned and shouted to everyone to start loading their things in the vehicles.

“If you don’t mind, Carter, I would appreciate it if you and Brennan could ride with me in the front. Alpha Alexi has a few things he would like me to discuss with you.” He looked pointedly at me, “The women can travel together in a car behind us.”

“’The women’ will stay with us,” he said possessively, a growl emanating from his chest “Anything that the Alpha would like to discuss can wait until we make it to our destination.”

Stefan looked frustrated but seemed to know better than to argue.

“She is important to you? This woman?” He asked.

“She is my mate and she stays with me,” he repeated.

Stefan seemed to pale slightly before muttering and walking away.

“Do not leave my side,” Carter breathed in my ear.

I was beginning to feel extremely uneasy, climbing into the SUV nearest us, Carter following closely behind. The sound of doors slamming filled the air as everyone else piled into the cars around us. Two people climbed into the driver's and passenger seats, nobody else entered our vehicle. The unease I was feeling was almost palpable. I grabbed Carter’s hand. He turned his head, his eyes meeting mine, telling me that he was feeling the same way I was.

The vehicles started moving and Carter and I sat in silence, the tension rising the longer the silence stretched on. I stared mindlessly out of the window, not really paying attention to what I was seeing. All of my senses were on high alert, feeding off the anxious energy rolling off of Carter. I took several deep breaths, trying to calm my racing heart.

Despite the unease, the convoy made it to the pack in one piece. We were greeted in the front of a building by a tall, slender man with white hair. He was older, his face etched with wrinkles, a stoic expression pasted on his face.

We exited the SUV, Carter’s hand never leaving mine. He positioned himself partially in front of me as he greeted the man waiting for us. “Alpha Alexi, thank you so much for allowing us to stay within your pack land while we figure out our next steps.”

“Welcome to Moonlit Dawn, Carter. I am glad that we are able to accommodate you.” He glanced behind Carter, looking me directly in my eyes. “And who might this be?” He sniffed the air, “She does not smell like a wolf.”

“This is my mate,” Carter replied, not bothering to give my name.

“Interesting.” He looked at me thoughtfully before turning his gaze back to Carter. “You know, there are stories circulating around these parts. Stories about hybrid wolves.”

Carter’s gaze hardened. “I can’t imagine where those stories came from.”

“Ah, Carter. Please do not take me for an ignorant man.” More wolves started to stream out of the building’s front door, forming around our SUV. The rest of our group were glancing at each other, clearly sensing that something was not right. Looking around quickly, I was unable to find Brennan or Petra.

I squeezed Carter’s hand, whispering to him my observation. I felt his body stiffen next to me.

“We cannot sit here and pretend to know nothing about what I am speaking of. As a friend of your late father’s, I would like to think you respect me more than this.” Carter stood silent, his jaw set.

Before I could register what was happening, I was grabbed from behind, a cloth shoved over my nose. I began to lose consciousness, watching helplessly as Carter was also grabbed, a syringe filled with brown liquid injected into his neck. He struggled against the grip of his assailant, more men rushing to subdue him as he roared my name. My head felt heavy, my heart screaming for him, as blackness overcame me.

****

I have a raging headache. My mouth is dry and I have no idea where I am, but I can feel the walls of the room pulsating with energy. I sat up from my bed, taking in the glass walls that caged me in on all 4 sides. The only thing that was in here with me was my bed and a glass of water on the floor next to it.

“SELENE!” I screamed in my head. I was met with silence. I paced the small space looking out at the room my prison was located in. It was also empty, a single folding chair facing me, about 10 feet away from the door. The walls looked like solid concrete, dashing any hope I had of breaking out.

I leaned my head against the glass, a heavy sigh escaping my lips. As soon as my forehead met the glass, an electrical current shot through me, rooting me on the spot. It took all of my strength to rip myself away from the glass and I fell, panting on the floor.

Anger coursed fiercely through my body. How dare these people keep me locked up here like a dog. I have done nothing to deserve this type of treatment. I screamed at the top of my lungs until my voice was hoarse. I grabbed the mattress off of the bed, throwing it against the glass.

“I know you can hear me! What do you want with me?! I deserve a f*****g explanation!” I grabbed the bedframe next, the adrenaline that was pumping through me allowing me to lift it and slam it against the glass. “Where am I?!”

The door opened and I watched in loathing as Alpha Alexi walked in.

“You are causing quite a disturbance, princess.” I said nothing as I watched him take a seat in the metal chair. He placed his elbows on his knees, staring at me curiously.

“Funny, you don’t look like the all-powerful she-wolf that Sebastian says you are.”

“I don’t care what Sebastian has told you. I have done nothing to deserve this treatment and I demand to be set free immediately.”

“Ah, I can’t do that, unfortunately. As I just finished telling Carter, there is a sizeable bounty on both your heads. I would be a fool to allow you to leave now. I have a pack to think of now. Allowing you to leave here would put a target on us all. I wouldn’t be a very good Alpha if I allowed that to happen now, would I?”

He continued to stare at me, not saying anything, and I offered nothing either. He is trying to make me sweat, and I refused to be the first to break the ever-elongating silence. I will not give him a reason to believe me weak.

“Interesting,” Alexi said, finally speaking. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe Sebastian is wrong about you after all. If you are as powerful as he says, surely you would have done something worthwhile by now. You don’t even smell of wolves.”

Once again, I offered nothing.

“Very well. Let’s see what you do now.”

The door to the room opened once more and a man in a lab coat walked in. Behind him, a woman pushed a gurney. A medical bag could be seen sitting on the top. The doctor walked over to my glass enclosure and hit a button. I could hear a hiss coming from above me as an invisible gas made its way in. My head became heavy, my eyes once again rolling into the back of my head as I lost consciousness.

I woke up strapped to the gurney. I was no longer on display in my enclosure but in another concrete-walled room, only this time, the walls were also fortified with steel beams. I noticed that the steel beams were wrapped in copper wiring and the wiring was leading straight to cuffs wrapped on each wrist.

I could feel my heart begin to race as I took in the doctor at the corner, staring at me with a blank expression. His hand was on a large switch. A camera was set up in the corner and I can only imagine the kind of sick, twisted enjoyment that Alexi was getting out of this.

“Sit tight, princess. Things are about to get fun,” Alexi’s cold voice filtered through a speaker.

I braced myself as the doctor flipped the switch. The electricity crackled as it made its way through the wiring and into my cuffs. Unimaginable pain entered my wrists, quickly spreading through my body. My back arched, the scream I fought so hard to contain ripped out of my mouth as I felt the fiery burn work its way through every inch of my body.

After what felt like forever, the electricity dissipated, leaving me panting on the gurney. Tears slowly slid down the side of my head into my hair. I prayed for death to come to me as Alexi commanded the doctor twice more. I don’t know how much more my body could take, it’s been through so much the last several days already.

My mind was in a haze and I was fighting consciousness when I heard the door to the room open. Alexi’s face appeared above mine. “It would seem that you do have some fight in you, princess. I am even surprised.” His face dropped to my ear. “I will break you. You will reveal your powers to me one way or another. And when you do, you will belong to me."