Chapter 1

"We really have to attend this ceremony with all these old fucks and prudes?"

Crimson liquid combined with citrus smelling suds covered the porcelain sink. The small bowl was working overtime swallowing all of the mixed fluids, evident in the noisy sounds coming from the pipes and drains connected.

Weary, drone-like eyes kept their hold on gruff, calloused hands.He was tired of washing his hands...

"Come on War, man. Your hands are clean."

Snapping out of his tired haze, he was pulled back to reality with the crude nickname bestowed upon him by his Alpha. Blinking a few times he glanced down at his hands. They were finally...clean.

He wiped his hands quickly on the dark jeans he wore. Looking at the other man in the bathroom with him, he grimaced.

The tips of the man's dark hair were still stained red. His nails still held blood on them. His dark eyes held the same dead expression War usually held. "There's Blood... everywhere." He pointed to the problem areas of the man's body, watching the irritation heighten in him.

The man quickly walked over to the dirtied mirror and cursed. "Fuck War, if you weren't in Lala land you could've told me earlier," he snapped, turning on the faucet and dunking his head under the water.

While Trent focused on taking a birdbath, War focused on straightening up his clothes and sniffing them. The smell was revolting. "We smell," he said while pulling his clothes on.

No matter how much of a quick shower they both had they still reeked of it. Death, blood, gore. Trent snorted, and sneezed, quickly taking his head from under the water. "Yeah well, we're nothing special. They won't give a fuck about us."

Trent was right. No one cared for the two of them, except for Alpha. He wondered if the Lunar council would judge them for coming into such a holy place reeking of blood. The blood of rogues. It was frowned upon by the Lunar council to kill rogues yet everyone still did so... Especially Alpha Khan.

"Come on boys. We have to get going." A deep, loud voice echoed throughout the house.

Boys. They would always be boys. Even though both men were close to their thirtieth year on this earth. Well, at least that was what Sai would always see them as...

"Yeah, yeah we're coming!"

The two quickly exited the bathroom and rushed down the long winding staircase of the Alpha house. Once they made it to the foyer, they were immediately greeted by a man who smelled...clean. Scents could be deceiving though.

The man smiled, one full of teeth. Sharpened and threatening. His nails were elongated, to almost a half shift. His arms were covered in thick dark Lycan hair. Alpha Khan was in a constant state of oneness with his Lycan. To the point where he was more wolf than man... It was dangerous to continually stay in a half shift form but that's what Alpha Khan was. Dangerous.

It was normal for War, he'd always been around Alpha, but he knew that the moment they stepped into the Lunar hall, all eyes would be on them.

A feral Alpha and his two dogs.

"Holy Fuck."

Icy eyes analyzed the long entrance to the lunar temple. Old Romanesque style architecture was far as the eyes could see. Everything pertaining to the old building screamed last century.

As War walked beside Alpha Khan he noticed the vast amount of people casting glares and looks of absolute horror as they walked past them. Most likely smelling the putrid scent of death left over on maybe one or all of them.

One was supposed to approach the temple clean. He knew that from what the elders in the pack told him when he was young...but Alpha Khan could care less. He knew what they smelled like...

While they bobbed and weaved through the crowds of people he noticed the people who were serving and catering to the guests were all either wearing pale yellow outfits or pure white. The men wore a type of long tunic that reached almost to the floor and the women wore dresses that completely covered their entire bodies. All that was shown were their faces, and hair. Some women even had their hair covered...

"This is really a pain," Trent sighed out as loudly as War watched his alpha stop a cowering man in yellow and snatch his platter of small food out of his hand. Alpha took a few pieces of the food popping them into his mouth before handing it to Trent.

While his companions ate, War wanted to escape. It was too chaotic, too full in the large place. He rather be in his room reading about poisonous plants or watching the young children practice their fighting tactics.

A loud yawn came from Alpha Khan as he sighed loudly, glaring at all of the holy people. "They're lucky this shit is mandatory. It's just a ploy to get more fuckin money for the temples around the damn country. None of it goes to actually helping the packs who need it," he said aloud as Trent was busy stuffing his face.

War nodded his head slowly, letting the words his alpha spoke about marinate. He believed that some of the money did really go to different packs but he was going to keep that thought to himself. It wasn't like Alpha Khan cared about his opinion anyway...

Then the world stopped.

A scent like a fresh warm vanilla cookie with hints of chocolate being pulled out of an oven bombarded his senses. War felt as if someone had smashed the baking sheet into his face. The scent hit him like a ton of bricks. He instinctively went to his mouth, making sure that saliva wasn't dripping down. He was good. Thankfully.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

What was wrong with him?He felt freakin terrified of whatever was coursing through his veins. It was his wolf maybe? "You...you don't smell that?" He asked worriedly as his wolf began to perk up, becoming on high alert.

What had gotten him so riled up that his wolf was now becoming present? Usually, only death and violence awoke such a beast that resides within him...

His eyes swept over the crowd and before he had the chance to even sniff out whatever it was, a loud crash sounded. The sound right along with the sound of his heart beating out of his chest was enough to scare him. Was his heart going to combust? It felt like his heart was going to crawl out of its chest and melt onto the floor. His chest was aching something awful.

"Oh look one of the prudes passed out."

War instinctively turned to where the crowd was shifting, which so happened to be where the intoxicating scent was coming from.

The low growl he was giving people as he pressed through the crowd was good enough for them to slowly slip out of his way, giving him the perfect pathway to the middle of the gathering circle.

He saw a heap of white lying on the floor. It was a young woman. She was unconscious and a few other holy women were surrounding her.

"One of the novices fainted!"

"That's Pomelia!"

War watched closely as another young woman fell to her knees and began to gently shake the woman on the floor. She was young. Younger than him. Wild curly hair, tanned skin, and freckles splattered all over her button nose and cheeks. He wanted to be so close to her that he would be able to count her freckles...

War gripped his forearm tightly, his molars grinding almost violently against each other as he fought the urge to pick the young novice up. The need to pick her up was making him shake. He was going to lose control and soon if he didn't gather his wits...

He snarled when a strong hand suddenly slapped onto his neck. "Let's get you outta here kid before you make a mistake!" It was Khan.

"Okay," he said through gritted teeth as Khan lead him away, snarling at the crowd of people they had to maneuver through to get him out and into some fresh air.

As soon as War was hit with fresh air, he breathed in mouthfuls of it, attempting poorly to cope with what was happening. With what the Moon was telling him, his body, his wolf...

"Breath, kid."

Was groaned, squatting down and pulling his hair at the roots. He thought he had killed too many, maimed too many to have a mate. He thought he was too rooten to be blessed. Or was this is a curse.

"I...why?" He questioned, in a jumble of confusion. She was a holy woman. He couldn't be with her. It wasn't possible. This obviously was a way for the moon goddess to punish him. It upset him. Petrified him. He couldn't live without the scent, it was now ingrained, burned into his brain.

Khan sighed. " She's a novaice so it's possible."

What did that even mean? War was under the impression that any holy person's potential bond with their mate was automatically severed the moment they joined the moon goddesses' sacred organization. "How?"

"She didn't take her vows yet. She did not drink whatever ceremonial shit and say some old words that permanently shatter any future bond," Sai explained as he blew out a big billow of smoke. "Which means you have a chance with the girl."

War glanced up his Alpha, confusion yet again littering his face. " You...you.. you sai-"

"I know I said a lot of shit over the years but if you want her, take her. Maybe you'll finally get laid," his Alpha chuckled crudely as War tensed. He couldn't imagine having sex with someone like her... Was it wrong? The moment sex was brought up, lust like he never felt before clouded his mind. He tried to blink the thoughts away,but they wouldn't stop.

Then a throaty chuckle threw him out of his god awful haze. " I never thought I'd see the day you got horny. We thought you were gay at one point." He remembered. Alpha had a male who is fluid his sexuality hang out with them multiple times,always buzzing around War. He ignored the male, although he noted he did have a nice smile, that was it is as far as attractiveness went.

"I need... to stop," He groaned, annoyed that he's cock was really going haywire here. Usually, he could just will it away. It only happened in the morning after waking up or sometimes after watching the women spar. Which he would quickly live the premises upon seeing their flirty gazes. It wasn't like he was at home and could rub one out. He was outside an incredible holy place and his cock was rock hard.

"You know the acidic and rusting taste of blood in your mouth. Especially when you bite to the bone and get that gristle. That sickening crack just is music to my ears," his Alpha began to speak, as War glared at him wondering why he was talking of such things." Or when you rip the stomach open. All the guts and intestine look like those long-ass Italian sausage. "

War killed. A lot. One thing he hated thought was talking about killing. It made him queasy. "And that's how you tame that monster dick of yours. I need a standing ovation."

Glacing down, he was thoroughly surprised that he's cock was now flaccid and not irritated like before. "Thanks..."

"Are you going to get the girl? Wait till they carry her off to a separate room. Don't cause a scene because I'm already on thin ice as it is with these bitches."