Chapter 1
Chapter 1
“I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream.”
Sleeping Beauty
Like all werewolf kids, the legend of the Moon God was one of my favorite bedtime stories. My mom would tuck me under the covers and tell me how thousands of years ago, the Moon God created the first werewolves. How, not long after, he made sure each werewolf was born with a soul mate.
I’d listen with wide eyes as she told me how the Moon God wasn’t just a deity for wolves to worship, but centuries ago, he even ruled over us like a king. Of course, that was before he was cursed into an eternal sleep, and werewolves were left to fend for themselves.
I could’ve listened to the legend of the Moon God night after night because that’s all it was to me – a legend. A bedtime story that shared the same space in my brain as Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny.
And like all bedtime stories, I grew out of it. There was no time for bedtime stories when my pack got attacked and my parents were killed. Or when I was left in the care of my older brother, who was barely more than a child himself.
But then I turned into an adult and I learned something that wouldn’t just change my life, but the entire supernatural world.
The Moon God was no bedtime story.
He was real, and he was coming back to claim the world he’d once ruled over.
He was going to take back what belonged to him.
And that included me, his mate.
🌔🌕🌖
I couldn’t see his face, but I could feel him.
One of his tanned hands curled into my hair, the other fell to my waist. We stood under the light of a full moon, and I was suddenly very aware of how skimpy my clothing was. Just a thin white dress, and not even a pair of panties underneath.
“You’re mine, little wolf,” a dark, raspy voice spoke into my ear, and my breath caught when I felt his cool breath on my skin.
“No,” I managed to get out, “Not yours.”
“Yes,” he growled lowly, and I gasped when his lips touched my neck. His mouth set fire to everything he touched, and his grip on my hair suddenly tightened. “You are mine. My little wolf. I’m waiting for you.”
It was a wonder I hadn’t completely lost myself to the sensations of his skin against mine, but somehow, I still had enough common sense to ask, “Who are you? Where are you?”
His lips curved into a smirk against my neck. “You’ll know soon enough, little wolf…but you’re going to change the world. You’re going to change everything.”
That was the last thing I remembered before I shot up in bed, a cold sweat breaking out over my skin.
It was just a dream.
I wasn’t in the forest and I certainly wasn’t wearing some skimpy white dress – I was still clothed in my brother’s old t-shirt and fuzzy pajama bottoms. There was no mystery man in sight either.
That was weird.
People occasionally have weird dreams about naked men touching them and claiming them, right?
Definitely nothing to worry about.
I glanced outside my window, and cursed – the sun was already up.
Shit.
I’m late, and Rae is going to kill me.
There were only two things I was sure of in this world: first, that iced coffee was worth being a few minutes late for training, and second, Rae was going to kick my ass for being late to training.
Fortunately, I had a backup plan to prevent that second one – it was the caramel macchiato in my right hand, Rae’s favorite drink.
Unfortunately, as I speed-walked across the field and caught a glimpse of Rae’s murderous glare, I began to doubt the effectiveness of that plan.
“You’re late, Ollie,” she growled as I approached. Her face was twisted into a frown, her arms crossed over her chest. She was several inches taller than me, so I had to crane my head just to look up at her.
“Technically, I’m only ten minutes late,” I told her, “And I don’t think you can possibly be late for something that takes place before 8AM. Plus, I brought you a macchiato.” I presented the drink to her.
Rae’s dark eyes narrowed, but after a moment, she sighed and took the coffee from my hands. “You’re lucky you came with caffeine,” she grumbled, taking a large sip.
“Trust me, I know.”
Now that I’d soothed Rae’s morning rage with coffee, I turned to face the other pack warriors that had gathered for 7AM training.
Well, warriors was a strong word for the small group of teenagers and pre-teens that were sprawled across the field. Like me, most of them didn’t look happy to be awake before sunrise.
At twenty-one, Rae and I were the oldest ones here. The actual pack warriors, the ones who didn’t look like they were just starting high school, were in real battle. They’d gone to help one of our neighboring packs, the Storm Claws, fend off a dangerous group of rogues encroaching on Storm Claw territory.
Even our own Alpha had gone with them. We hadn’t seen or heard much from Alpha Roman or those pack warriors in weeks, and with each new day, their absence unsettled the pack more.
Alpha Roman had taken the best pack warriors with him, which left our own territory poorly guarded. He might as well have planted a giant sign on his way out that read: MY PACK IS VULNERABLE! INVADE US.
And we were vulnerable.
Besides me, Rae, and my older brother, Hudson, most of the wolves left behind were the elderly, new mothers, and their children.
Not exactly the makings of your most intimidating army.
With the warriors gone, Rae and I were in charge of teaching warrior training classes to the new wolves. The worst part of the gig wasn’t that I had to teach a bunch of grumpy teenagers – it was that Rae insisted everyone be on the field and ready to train by 7AM.
“Alright, everyone!” Rae shouted. “We’ll be focusing on hand-to-hand combat today, no wolf forms.” A couple of the kids groaned at that, but one of Rae’s fierce glares silenced them almost immediately.
“Pair up, guys,” I said, “Remember – no shifting and no claws. Keep it clean.”
Rae and I stood together and watched the students pair into partners. I was grateful for days like this – where I got to do the supervising instead of participating in the demonstrations where Rae usually kicked my ass.
As soon as they’d begun their practice fights, Rae asked lowly, “Has Hudson heard anything from Alpha Roman lately?”
Hudson was my brother as well as Alpha Roman’s Beta, and he’d stayed behind to run the pack in Alpha Roman’s absence.
I shook my head. “Nope. He’s just as much in the dark as we are.”
Rae sighed. “Ridiculous, it’s been more than three weeks since Alpha Roman left. He should’ve been back by now.”
“You’re telling me,” I scoffed, turning to Rae.
Even in the early hours, Rae looked just as put together as ever. Not an eye bag in sight and her umber skin only seemed to gleam in the morning light. She thrived on these early training sessions – even if they killed the rest of us.
I, on the other hand, looked like I could’ve rolled out of bed five minutes ago. My t-shirt and track pants did nothing to help my case, and I’d barely managed to wrangle my frizzy brown curls into a ponytail. Most days, my hair seemed to have a life of its own. It was a miracle if I could tame it, and today was not a miracle.
Rae didn’t share my same hair problems. For as long as I’d known her, she’d been shaving her head. The style suited her, and when I’d asked her why she shaved it, Rae had told me she didn’t want her hair getting in the way during battle.
If only I could rock a shaved head.
“Leah! Widen your stance!” Rae suddenly shouted at a scrawny girl trying to punch her opponent.
“What are you going to do when the regular training instructors come back?” I asked Rae.
She raised her eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, you’ve got these kids throwing punches before dawn and shifting at will in seconds – no way they’re going to be able to compete with that.”
Rae rolled her eyes, but I could see the hint of a smile on her face. “Oh, please,” she said, “I’m not that good.”
“Are you kidding?” I scoffed, “You’re one of the best warriors in the pack – it’s no wonder why Alpha Roman was practically begging you to come with him.”
I wasn’t even exaggerating. I could hold my own if I needed to, but Rae really was one of the best fighters we had. She’d taken down seasoned pack warriors twice her size. Like me, she’d never been in a real battle, but I had no doubt she’d do just fine if she was.
“He only asked one time,” Rae said, “There was no begging involved. Not that I would have said yes even if he had begged. I’m not going to abandon you and Nana just because Alpha Roman wants me to get myself bloody in a dispute we shouldn’t even be part of.”
I couldn’t blame Rae for having strong feelings about Alpha Roman’s absence – most of the remaining pack members also had them.
“Jonathan!” Rae called out, targeting a lanky boy in the middle of the field. He stopped mid-attack, turning his attention to Rae. “There are other places you can try hitting an opponent other than the face. Like the stomach or the legs.”
“Or the throat,” I added, “Personally, I’m a big fan of the throat. Nobody expects it.”
Rae let out a breathy chuckle beside me, and Jonathan merely nodded at us with wide eyes. Most of the new wolves were terrified of Rae. She was terrifying – at least to anyone that wasn’t her best friend.
“When this class is over,” I told Rae, “I’m definitely taking a nap.”
“Actually…”
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Don’t tell me you signed us up to teach another class.”
I could see a sheepish smile form on Rae’s face, which was never good news. “Well, not a class exactly,” she said, “It’s just that I was talking with Hudson yesterday, and he said Luna Baila is sick, so there’s nobody to perform storytime for the kids today.”
“Rae, please tell me you didn’t volunteer us for this,” I groaned. I could already see the afternoon nap I’d been looking forward to slipping from my fingers.
New plan: never let Rae and Hudson talk alone. Clearly, they’re coming up with terrible ideas together.
“Look, there was nobody else to do it,” Rae replied, “And it’s only an hour! I’ve already gotten Luna Baila’s storybook. All we need to do is read it.”
“You mean I’ll read it while you get to sit in the back and play on your phone,” I corrected.
Rae looked at me, jutting out her lips into her signature puppy-dog face. “Please, Ollie. You’re my best friend.”
I stared at her for a moment and then I sighed.
“You’re lucky I love you.”
Moon God, give me strength. I’ve got to spend my afternoon reading to a bunch of little kids hyped up on sugar.