Luna's Revenge

Chapter 4

The silhouette of a man emerged from the edge of the sacred grove. I could see straight away that physically he was a fine specimen, perhaps even taller and more muscular than even Marcus. And as his features began to take shape... well, let's just say they didn't disappoint either!

The man was wearing a pair of blue jeans, boots, and a tee-shirt that seemed to be straining to contain his muscles. His hair was a long, dark brown that framed a chiseled face that featured a strong jaw and prominent nose. His best feature by far, though, were his eyes. They were this deep, beautiful blue that stood out in contrast to his darker hair and skin.

As attractive as the man was physically, it was his scent that really left an impression on me...

We werewolves have a powerful sense of smell, even in our human forms. On a superficial level, the smell I caught from the man was rather ordinary, not all that dissimilar from the other men in my life. The effect his scent was having on me though... well, that was another story altogether.

To say I felt aroused would be an understatement! I won't say I'd never felt that way before, but I certainly never had at the mere sight of a man! Back in the early days with Marcus, before I realized how evil the man could be, he could sometimes get me that worked up, but only after a great deal of foreplay. My whole body felt hot, my knees were shaking and my nether-regions felt wet and empty. I practically ached to have the man inside of me!

That sort of reaction to another person was one that I'd heard of before, but before that moment I'd never experienced. It was said that when a werewolf met their destined mate that that was the sort of reaction you could expect, but honestly I'd never imagined it would be so intense!

To verify that it wasn't just me experiencing the attraction, my eyes drifted to the man's crotch. Sure enough, his considerable manhood was clearly straining against his jeans!

After what felt like an eternity of the two of us staring at eachother, it was the man who broke the silence first.

"Who... are you?" the man asked.

"Ariel," I blurted out before trying to retain some of my composure, "Ariel Sinclair, Luna of the Night's Blessed. Who are you and why are you trespassing here?"

"Trespassing!?" the man responded, anger beginning to enter into his voice, "If anybody is trespassing here, it's you! I'm Adam James, the alpha of the Crimson Moons, the rightful keepers of this place!"

Adam James! Of all the people I could happen to find that evening, of course it would be him! The very man who Marcus had condemned me to death for "murdering" stood before me. I still didn't understand any of what was going on, but I also knew for certain that this was no coincidence!

"Rightful," I scoffed, "My father and his father and his father before him, back countless generations, have been the alphas of our pack. They've entered into the sacred grove and communed with the Moon Goddess, hearing her whispers. The Goddess chose our pack, not yours!"

"Insolent woman," Adam growled as he began to slowly close the gap between us, "I hear the the Moon Goddess' whispers as clearly as your father ever did, as did my father and his father before him. The gift has been handed down from father to son in both our packs for generations! Until now..."

"What do you mean 'until now'?"

"I mean," Adam answered, now practically on top of me, "That you are not your father's son. When the Moon Goddess whispers to me, she tells me that the time has come for this feud between our packs to end. Why do you think she brought you here? You're the daughter of the former alpha of your pack, his only child. I'm the Alpha of my pack. And I think it's pretty obvious that you're my fated mate, and I'm yours."

Adam rested his large, strong hands on my shoulders, and if he'd thrown me onto the ground and had me then and there I probably wouldn't have uttered a word in protest. He didn't though. He just stared at me with those beautiful blue eyes.

"That... that can't be right," I stuttered, trying to not let my growing lust distract me, "My father chose Marcus, his most trusted beta, as his heir. He wanted me to marry him. He...."

Adam leaned in close. I could feel his hot breath on the side of my neck. It sent a tingling sensation down my spine.

"And how do you know all that? Did he ever tell you?" the man asked.

No, he didn't. Marcus really was my father's most trusted beta, and he and I had always been close. Absent a son of his own, it made sense for father to choose him as an heir. But he'd died suddenly having never appointed one. It was in his will that we learned of his preference for Marcus, and his desire that Marcus and I marry.

But Marcus had confessed to murdering my father. Had he somehow faked his will as well?

My mind raced with the implications. Maybe everything Adam was saying was true! Maybe the Moon Goddess really had fated us for eachother with the intent of Adam becoming the alpha of both our packs! Perhaps She'd even whispered the truth to my father. It would make sense that Marcus would have been the first, and perhaps only, person that father had told this truth to. And it also made sense that Marcus would have seized the opportunity to usurp power for himself!

And I'd played right into Marcus' plan. I'd believed the will and married him without a second thought! I'd actually married my father's murderer and helped him take control of our pack and twist it into the cruel parody of itself it became after years under his rule!

Maybe the reason the Goddess sent me back in time was because everything had gone wrong, and it was all my fault! I felt like the biggest fool who'd ever lived. I fell down to my knees, unable to bear the weight of the guilt, and began to sob...