Chapter 1 #2
Anger flushed through me, heating my face. Desperation churned in my gut when his hands stilled on the sequesters and the precious leaves.
In a moment, the soldier’s voice dripped with mockery. “You wanted a walk, eh? How about we take one now?”
My pulse spiked as he grasped my other arm. Both soldiers hauled me away from my pack’s quarters. I hurried to keep up with their steps, knowing they’d drag me if I didn’t keep moving.
In a blur, we passed the outer concrete buildings of the Moonlight Pack.
Ordinarily, I didn’t go farther than the kitchen building on the fringes of this area.
But now, the soldiers marched me past more sturdy, well-kept structures, with trim lawns, hedges, and trees surrounding them.
The areas were well-lit, too. While we Blood Moons made do with firelight in our quarters, the Moonlights had electricity, run from generators.
The bright light made the grand stone buildings seem even more intimidating.
A couple of other Moonlights stood outside one of the buildings.
One of the soldiers restraining me called over to them, “Fetch Elder Sam. Tell him we’ve caught a Blood Moon stealing. ”
My heart crashed against my chest, and nausea threatened. The Moonlights ran on ahead. The soldiers’ cruel fingers bit farther into my arms, propelling me toward the center of the well-lit compound.
I barely noticed anything until we arrived before the grandest stone building.
I knew this building from whispered rumors: the Moonlights’ Council Chambers.
One of the soldiers wrenched back the double doors, and the other one marshaled me through.
The breeze was shut out as the heavy door thudded behind us.
A long corridor, gilded with bronzed runes, sprawled before me.
Even as panic tore through me, the opulence of this building was a slap in the face—a reminder of the wealth the Moonlights held while we lacked basic medicine.
Sam, one of the elders of the Moonlight pack, sat behind a long table.
His black hair, streaked with silver, was disheveled as if he’d just gotten up.
Otherwise, the fine tunic, embellished with rune-marks, gave him an air of authority.
The shiny table in front of him bore their pack’s symbol, a circle denoting Igaluk as the full moon with two crescent moons on either side of her.
Igaluk was the moon goddess that both packs revered. But the Moonlight Pack viewed themselves as her chosen people, exalted above all others.
Elitist bullshit.
Our pack’s belief had always been that Igaluk’s moon shone down upon all shifters. We believed it was our responsibility to use her light to help us work together. With determination, I tried to hold faith that the goddess would help me find a way to get back to my pack and to Mary.
Mary.
Sam’s forehead was furrowed with disdain, creating more lines as he scowled at me.
My gut twisted at the sight of Emily, his daughter, seated beside him.
Her hair was tugged back in a tight braid, accentuating her sharp features.
Dark lashes framed the malicious glint in her eyes.
She was the same age as my friends and I, and she enjoyed making our lives miserable in the kitchens.
While “supervising” us, she generally wore jeans and a T-shirt.
Tonight, she was dressed in a burgundy dress, and my dislike for her simmered beneath my skin as I took in how polished she looked.
“We found these on her,” the Moonlight patrol soldier announced, his tone grave as he handed over the sequesters and the herbs he had removed from my pouch.
Sam’s expression darkened as if I’d been caught committing a most heinous crime. I wanted to scoff at him. Surely, they knew that if I wanted to do any harm, my wolf had teeth and claws far more dangerous than a gardening tool.
“I needed to cut some pomenta,” I started.
Emily’s dark eyes sparkled with delight, and she exclaimed, “She’s the thief.”
“So, this is where our missing supplies have been getting to,” Sam agreed as if my fate was already sealed.
I shook my head. I’d only stolen tonight. I’d cut a herb once, out of desperation to save my friend. Within, my wolf bared its fangs, feeling cornered. Emily had said the thief, and Sam was accusing me of stealing multiple times.
I opened my mouth to deny their accusation and set them right, “I only took it…” But the rush of cool air washed over me as a man entered the room, cutting me off again.
“Kyle,” Sam exclaimed. “I didn’t realize you’d be sitting in on the council tonight.”
“What case are we presiding over tonight?” Kyle asked. There was an authority in his tone, but beneath it lay a spark of something else, too. It was curiosity, perhaps. His voice was a low rumble that resonated through the room and seemed to lodge in my chest.
I recognized the man’s name. Kyle was the son of the Moonlight Pack's Alpha. He was the future heir.
Great. This night just keeps getting better.
I’d never met the Moonlight’s heir before, but from what I knew, he’d been away at university for a few years.
He was a couple of years older than my twenty-two.
Word was, he’d finished his studies and returned to the pack last month.
The other word flying around about him was that he despised us Blood Moons.
The atmosphere shifted palpably as Kyle made his way toward the council’s table.
His presence was magnetic, commanding the room with a silent authority.
He wore a navy shirt, the material taut over his wide shoulders and chest. His slacks emphasized his tall, muscular frame.
He moved easy and self-assured, with the confidence of someone who knew his strength.
He exuded both power and restraint as he took a seat beside Emily.
Sam explained my “crime,” and I noticed how Kyle’s expression shifted slightly, caution cloaking his face. The light caught the contours of his chiseled jawline. For a moment, I was captivated by the play of shadow across his face.
Then, his eyes cut to me. His electric green stare held me captive more than the grip of the soldier. In that moment, the air itself felt charged. My breath hitched in my throat as I felt Kyle’s regard—deep and assessing, as if he saw right down to my marrow.
Intuition washed over me like moonlight dappling water. The moon goddess, Igaluk, reached out to me. I sensed her spirit wrapping around me. Heat radiated through me as my wolf rose up, drawn to this man, recognizing who he was immediately—
Kyle is our fated mate.