The Wolf Moon: Friends to Lovers Wolf Shifter Romance

Chapter 15

Artemis, huntress of the moon, make my aim true. Make my aim true. Make my aim true.

A whisper was echoing through my mind, something barely heard among the noise of my own thoughts trailing through my dreams.

Give me goals to seek and the constant determination to achieve them. Grant me communion with nature. Allow me to live surrounded by plants and animals that I can grow, protect, and nurture. Grow. Protect. Nurture. Nurture. Nurture.

My breath hitched in my slumber and I twisted under the sheets with discomfort.

Allow me the strength and wisdom to be my own mistress, not defined by the expectations of others. And sustain my sexuality to be as yours- wild and free as nature itself. Wild and free. Wild. Free.

I sat up sharply, my eyes wide with momentarily confusion. It took me second to take in my surroundings and to recall the guest room I’d been resting in for over a month since Roman had been gone. The night was dark outside the window, but it wasn’t quiet. At least not to me. I could hear the hum of something powerful through the air, whispering words I could no longer understand, and it called to me in a way I hadn’t felt before.

I flung the sheets from my legs and carefully made my way to the door, opening it easily before stepping out of the room entirely. I didn’t look for Caleb or Diana, instead focused entirely on the eerie call that sang to me like a siren in the night. I wasn’t sure if the front door was unlocked or if I had unlocked it in my daze. Either way, I was suddenly outside in the cool April air.

Without knowing where it would lead me, I followed the call to the nearby woods, stepping with ease through the trees. My fingers brushed against a tree, causing me to pause momentarily as I looked at it curiously. The rough edges of the bark felt vivid, reminding me despite the strange sensations that this wasn’t a dream.

I didn’t have to walk too far. Before long, I was coming across a familiar space; a lake in the trees with a clear surface that reflected the sky above it flawlessly. I had nearly died by this lake. I had marked Roman by this lake. And now I had been called to it again.

I wasn’t alone. In front of the lake, there were five women of the Trinity pack, dancing under the stars. Three of them held a lit torch in their hands, lifting it to the sky as they twirled between the other two, before passing them with an ease hard to understand. A red symbol marked each of their foreheads, flashing in the night; black one second and red along the light of the torches the next. Words were being whispered among each of them, over and over again as though they were pleaded with life itself.

It took me a moment to realize that I recognized at least one of the women in the group. Diana passed her torch to the next wolf and swiftly turned to spot me. I thought I would run, but instead I stared wide-eyed curiously. She stepped towards me and lifted her hand to me welcomingly.

I hesitated, but then moved to take her hand with wonder. She pulled me towards the other wolves, who folded me into their circle as easily as breathing. I wanted to ask what was going on, but something in the siren song was striking me dumbfounded. I only stood as one wolf traced her fingertip over my forehead slowly, drawing that symbol I had seen before in their abandoned temple.

It’s the symbol of the Triple Goddesses.

I instantly knew this was something I was not supposed to be doing. Roman would be furious to know any of his wolves were drawing symbols of the Goddesses on their forehead and dancing for them under the stars. And at the same time, this made me much more eager to participate in this strange situation.

I fell into the dance with a familiar ease, as though I had done it before. And while I had done dances before, I hadn’t done one such as this one. I lifted my hand when a torch was held out to me, taking it carefully and staring at the flame with wonder before continuing to twirl around the other wolves curiously. Three torches- one for each Goddess.

“Artemis, huntress of the moon,” I heard the whispers around me and for some reason I knew the words as well, “make my aim true.”

Diana had stopped twirling and was instead in the center of the circle, first on her knees and then on her back. One woman took the torch from me and they all three were staked into the ground around Diana carefully. I continued to follow the lead of the other wolves, twisting around Diana, lifting my hands up to the waxing crescent moon and closing my eyes.

“Maiden of freedom, you are the eternal virgin, the Holy Bride of nature, and the revealing light within the shadows. Through you, all that is good comes to birth,” Diana called out, her words like static electricity throughout my limbs. There was power in them, something I couldn’t explain, and when the women around me began to repeat Diana’s words, I followed in suit.

“Mother of compassion, forever fertile, Lady of the forge, You are the creating force of love and the strength which nourishes all that lives. Through you, the cause of life is served,” Diana continued almost desperately. The women began to repeat the words, but my voice trailed into quiet whispers and my steps slowed until I was no longer moving. Instead, I found myself staring at Diana’s form on the forest floor.

“Crone of wisdom, Ancient One, Keeper of the Cauldron, You stand at the gates between the worlds and carry the shining sickle of death. Without you, nothing can be transformed,” Diana’s words echoed around us as the women repeated them, their movements speeding up as they twisted around us determinedly. I lowered myself to my knees next to Diana, my actions of no concern to the wolves around us.

“Light of the Goddesses, By the power and will of She that is Three,” Diana pleaded as I lifted my hand to her curiously. The power crawling under her skin called to me, asking me to feel it and feed it. I rested my hand on her stomach just as she continued, “Blessed Be.”

The prayers grew louder around us, a question being sent to the Goddesses above and begging to be answered. I knew what it was they asked, and a part of me wanted it for them, for Diana, as well. I’d heard of stranger rituals, asking for fertility in women who had no hope.

I couldn’t hear the wolves around me repeating the prayer around me. I could only feel the shift of the power under the palm of my hand, pulsing throughout Diana. Just as suddenly as I felt it through her, it sparked under my palm and then throughout me like lightning. The torches around us blew out in unison. I gasped and immediately tried to pull my hand away, but Diana grasped my wrist just as quickly.

“Don’t be afraid,” She told me gently, but it was easier requested than done. But just as quickly as I had felt the power, it was suddenly gone. The wolves around us collapsed as well, panting in the darkness.

“It seemed like they were really listening that time,” one of the younger women panted hopefully. I wasn’t focused on the other wolves. Instead, I watched Diana who sat up to peer at me curiously just the same. I looked at this lycan, a woman I thought was a normal lycan, but for some reason she felt like something else entirely.

“Let’s go home,” Diana said, standing before holding her hand out to me once more. I took it, but something still nagged at me inside. That hadn’t been a regular prayer. And I hadn’t felt power like that before.

~…~

In the week that followed the incident in the woods, things were normal. Diana didn’t speak further on the strange ritual under the stars and I was smart enough to know I shouldn’t mention it in case we were overheard. The only indication I received were from the women who had been in the woods with us, who would greet me much more warmly than before as though we were some form of family now.

I continued to follow Caleb around for the most part, though I found it easier to interact with the pack without the curiosity and suspicion that they held from before. Sometimes I would help with tasks, some familiar to me such as laundry, dishes, making food, and cleaning. Other tasks I was less familiar with, though the only time I was approached with those was when I was around Logan.

Something about Logan made us click almost instantly. I was completely certain that he intended to gain back the upper hand that he had lost during the hunt at some point in time, and in that fact I should be more careful around him, but he knew just what kept me interested. Every chance I could grasp, I would use to slip away and to find Logan; something I was very good at doing.

On one particular day, while Caleb was distracted with an issue among the rations, I twisted out of sight and easily began to sprint away. I could sense the shapeshifters around me, but I found I could also track down specific ones if I wished to. I used this sense to hunt Logan, slipping between the buildings until I could sense his presence nearby.

Logan wasn’t alone. He was training with the other warriors, practicing for a war that I wasn’t allowed to know about. I remained hidden out of sight for awhile, watching as he sparred with one of the other warrior wolves intensely. This went on for awhile until Logan suddenly had his opponent pinned, a claw to their throat dangerously. A tap on his arm in surrender and he released the wolf promptly, allowing them to take a break. Their ability was still far from my reach, but it didn’t keep me from trying. I grasped at the blade in my hand, a present Logan had gifted me with after having lost my previous one to Roman.

With Logan’s back to me, his eyes on his receding previous opponent, I suddenly attacked. I ran across the space between us, ignoring the knowing looks of the other warriors who had already saw me coming, and lunged at Logan. Without looking, Logan swung his arm back and blocked mine roughly. I winced, but didn’t falter; my blade was in my other hand. Having used my initial attack as a decoy, I swung the blade at Logan’s side. He quickly leapt back, just barely missing the tip of my knife. Then he grasped the arm he had blocked, twisting me around and swiping his leg under mine until I found myself slammed into the ground onto my back solidly.

I immediately lunged for the blade that had fallen from my grasp, but Logan kicked it away just as quickly before grasping my wrists and pinning my arms to my chest. He lifted a partially shifted hand threateningly, aiming to strike my throat.

“Dead,” Logan stated dangerously.

“Aw, man,” I groaned and then squirmed in his grip in an attempt to escape his strong claws. When this failed, I sighed and then glared with determination, “I demand a rematch!”

“You always do,” Logan responded with amusement before releasing me promptly. I moved to attack him and he shoved me back down to the ground. Then he sat down in front of me. I frowned, less happy with this form of practice than the sparring matches I preferred. “Come on, hands up. You know the drill.”

Logan tapped his legs and then lifted his hands palm up.

“Do we have to do this part?” I pouted unhappily.

“Until you stop being afraid of it, yes,” He responded with a shrug. I hesitated, but then lifted my hands until they hovered over his. Logan watched my hands intensely, hiding any thought he would have behind that stony expression. I knew already he was intrigued by my backwards nature.

With much pressure from Logan, I could partially shift parts of my body; my hands, feet, and teeth. It was a skill most wolves had to spend years into their full shifts to conquer, but it was the full shift that I found I couldn’t do myself. I still couldn’t explain what I was, how I could shift any part of me at all, and why I wouldn’t be able to shift entirely if I wasn’t human at all.

I clenched my teeth together as I reached for that wild power under the surface of my skin. It reacted to Logan’s own beast not far from my grip, sensing something powerful and dangerous. My power was defensive when called on. It twisted my grip until claws began forming on the tips of my fingers instead, and my teeth lengthened with dangerous fangs.

“You’re getting better at it,” Logan praised me, slowly lowering his hands away from me before pausing. I struggled to keep the form, but just the minor distance between us was enough to begin receding those dangerous claws back into my natural human form. He made a noise of disappointment, “You’re too eager to shift back. You need to learn to hold it without my help.”

“I know,” I grumbled, pulling my hands back into my lap and rubbing them together with discomfort. It still felt unnatural to me, but the power in the shift was both intoxicating and frightening to me. With a look from Logan, I rolled my eyes and lifted my hands again to practice the partial shift further.

“When you have control over the shift, you’ll have a weapon much more useful than any blade or bow. Should you find yourself fighting a wolf, you’ll want something reliable as this. You’re small, slow, and weak. Disarming you would be easy,” Logan lectured me as I attempted to hold the partial shift every time he moved his hands away, before failing and returning back to human form.

I didn’t like to be called small, slow, or weak. I narrowed my eyes at him.

“What are you doing after this?” I asked Logan, pointedly ignoring my urge to respond to his provokes. Logan paused and then lifted his hands until his palms were resting against mine. I blinked in mild surprise, feeling the pulse of power under his skin against mine.

“A few of us are going to the hunting grounds to gather some provisions. It’s a good way to let off some steam, so I volunteered as well,” Logan stated, tilting his head as he watched my reaction. The thought of hunting intrigued me. The thought of hunting with the wolves seemed like something I shouldn’t do, and something I had been forbidden to do. But the way Logan watched me said he knew my desires before I did.

“Can I go?”I finally asked despite myself.

Logan smiled deviously.

“If you can hold your shift for thirty seconds, you can go,” He told me, much to my dismay. I took a deep breath and frowned in concentration as I looked at my human hands. I reached for that power again, forming those unnatural claws and pulling at the beast under Logan’s skin which still remained against mine. He waited a moment and then pulled his grip away, taking that power with it.

I felt my form falter, but I really wanted to go to this hunt. I pushed at the power, demanding and demanding that it remain even if the danger wasn’t as close as before. I recognized the difference. I was usually relieved to go back to my normal form, but if it was a desire to remain changed, it was easier to hold the partial shift.

“I knew you could do it,” Logan reached forward to poke my nose, causing me to lose my focus for a moment. My hands reverted back to normal as I blinked at him. “Come on then. We should probably go before Beta Caleb finds you again.”

I followed Logan across the grounds eagerly while simultaneously keeping an eye out for Caleb, who would no doubt be looking for me by this time. I usually couldn’t get away with more than an hour with Logan before he would show up to scold me, though something told me Caleb was allowing it more than being outsmarted by the likes of me.

When we arrived at the edge of the woods, there was already a small group of wolves waiting. A couple of them were in full shift, stepping carefully around the group impatient to start. The few that remained in human form greeted Logan expectantly before pausing when spotting me.

“She isn’t allowed to go, is she?” One man questioned Logan uncertainly.

“Of course not, she can’t even shift,” Another interrupted before reaching to shove me away. Logan snatched his wrist and glowered at the man, the intensity in his silent threat enough to cause the wolf to back up. I myself was a bit surprised. It had been awhile since anyone in the pack tried to do anything to me besides look away or bare necks.

“Tala here is with me. Let’s just go as usual,” Logan released the man and gestured for them to move away. Then he turned to me with a knowing look in response to my own expression. “That’s Vio. He’s one of the wolves who wasn’t in the range to submit to you. Probably doesn’t enjoy the idea of a previous human being around here.”

“He’s not the only one,” I grumbled unhappily. The small pack of wolves began to enter the trees, each one either already shifted or beginning to. I hesitated, watching them land on all fours before lunging into the forest easily. Logan was the last to go before me, looking back before gesturing for me to follow.

“Try to keep up.” With his final advice, I watched as he shifted as easily as breathing into a large domineering wolf with coat of silver and black. It had been awhile since I’d seen Roman in such a form, but even knowing that he must be even larger, it was hard to remember when seeing Logan like this.

I tried not to let them intimidate me, reaching to my waist to clutch my knife reassuringly before stepping into the trees as well. I paced myself, racing behind the wolves quick enough to not lose them entirely but slow enough to not over exert myself.

The weather was finally beginning to warm as spring approached. Animals which normally would be hiding out among the snow were now finding the courage to wander outside of their homes, so I suspected the game collection wouldn’t be too bad after this hunt.

I was used to my type of hunt. As it wasn’t allowed beyond a certain point, many humans focused more on growing crop than the less dependable option of meat. So I didn’t usually have anyone with me in my own hunts. The wolves hunted as several members, but in the end it was more like they were one. They would use tactics to draw out prey, even if it meant not getting the kill for themselves. They also traveled as far as they wanted, without any concerns of potential attacks or other dangers.

I enjoyed the feel of it; the freedom of racing through the trees, pausing to inspect tracks, before searching for whatever beast waited among the forest. At some point, I felt entirely immersed in the hunt, focused on putting in effort to prove myself useful to the group. I landed swiftly behind a sheltered bush area, pausing when hearing the shuffling of greenery not too far off in the distance.

I reached for my shoulder, pausing when realizing I didn’t have my bow this time around. Instead, I lowered my hand and grasped the blade at my hip, pulling it from its sheath carefully as I moved slowly towards the noise. I breathed ever so slowly, afraid any false sound would scare off the potential game.

However, with a short step, my presence was made known with a small snap of a twig. I tensed, expecting the creature to run the opposite direction. Instead, I started with surprise when the beast let out a horrific screech and began to charge at me. A beast I had never seen before burst from its shelter, short but large and fitted with long tusks along its opened mouth as it came at me.

I leapt to the side, dropping my blade like an amateur, and cursed myself. The beast didn’t run away after passing me. In fact, it turned to charge at me again, fully intent on injuring and killing me itself if necessary. I grasped for my blade once, twice; panic setting in.

Normally, I would have just used my gift to halt the beast, but for some reason my thoughts went blank at such an unfamiliar creature. I felt in danger, but also I felt it was still my prey. I focused on my right hand, calling my own beast within me until I felt my hand twist and shift into something more dangerous than a blade.

Just as the beast would ram into me, I swiped at its face, sending it reeling into the ground with a loud cry. Deep gashes remained across its flesh in response, leaving it panting with its injury painfully. I paused, standing straight and feeling my hand already receding into th