Chapter Five

Selene’s POV

Damen didn’t answer my question. Instead, he retrieved his phone and quickly left the crone’s house. I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding, praying that Damen would let me stay.

“The Alpha of the Crescent Moon is going to demand a trial,” Rhiannon suddenly states. “Inside the Crescent Moon Pack territory.”

I’d rather die than go back to that hellhole!

Pack laws will allow Hunter to take me back since I’m accused of murder.

Rhiannon slowly rose to her feet and walked towards the back of the house. I know I need to leave, but where? Without a pack, I would be considered a rogue.

” Not like we have a pack now anyway,”Diana says.

” True. But we currently have some protection, at least.”I try to soothe her because I can feel her growing restless under my skin.

“Here, Alpha,” Rhiannon interrupts my thoughts. She shoves a wallet full of cash with a fake ID into my hands.

“What’s this?” Surprised at the contents’ thickness.

“The Moon Goddess told me to prepare for this eventuality,” she answers with a shrug. “Go hide in a human city until you’re strong enough to return and take what’s rightfully yours.”

Her eyes drift off for a moment and then snap back into focus. “Alpha Damen is on his way back to fetch you! Drink this masking potion! Now! RUN!”

I stand and grab the tiny vial from her weathered fingertips. Pulling the little cork out, I downed the contents in one gulp. “Thank you!” I tell her before bolting out the back door into the darkening woods.

Damen’s POV

Selene’s recorded story was burning a hole in my hand as I sped back to Alpha Hunter waiting in my office. When I reached there, my Beta stayed with him as I lifted my phone.

Hunter’s expression darkened, but I ignored it.

“I have Selene’s testimony about Colin’s death,” I informed him, wanting to end the bad blood.

“Where’s Selene?” Hunter demanded. “Too afraid to face me and tell me herself?”

“No,” I replied, my irritation rising with Hunter’s attitude. “She’s safe.”

“Good,” Hunter snapped. “Now go and fetch her! She will be tried for murder in Crescent Moon territory.”

My patience snapped. “ARE YOU INSANE?! Do you even want to know her side of the story?”

“Please,” Hunter snarled while waving away at my phone. “Do you actually think I’ll believe anything from that wolf-less slut? Without actual evidence and witnesses, she’ll be put down like any other rabid wolf!”

“You hate her so much without cause, because why?! What the fuck did she EVER do to you?!” My fury was mounting.

“Because I CANNOT be mated with a weak wolf-less she-wolf!” My wolf Apollo was clawing at my chest, wanting out to tear this prejudiced prick a new asshole. I did one better. I jabbed him in the nose and felt a satisfying cartilage and bone crunch.

Hunter, shocked at my assault, cupped his face and snapped his nose back into place. His Alpha healing is already complete. No blood escaped the once-damaged appendage. Damn! Should have hit him harder!

But Hunter didn’t retaliate, knowing he was deep in enemy territory. Instead, he straightens and says, “I invoke the Alpha Code, where if a wolf is accused of murder, the wolf in question and the trial will happen where the crime was committed. The crime was in Crescent Moon’s territory.”

FUUUUUUUUCK!

Hunter knew he had me in a corner. If he informed the other packs that I refused to honor our sacred codes, then I could be attacked by all the packs. Full Moon Pack would be no more.

“Fine,” I gritted. “But you also remember that Selene will be kept safe and fed with an attorney to represent her. The trial must be fair, and all evidence will be available. That is also under the Alpha Code.”

I turned on my heel, not waiting for his response. “Follow me, please,” I ordered, marching towards Rhiannon’s house.

Hunter’s POV

I didn’t want to pull the murder accusation card, but Damen left me no choice! I needed to get Selene back!

Morpheus was driving me crazy when the bond of the bite mark vanished. He wouldn’t let me sleep a whole night until he knew his mate was back.

Stupid wolf!

” I should not have let you heal your broken nose so quickly!”He snarled, still pacing beneath my skin. Selene’s heady scent of lavender and patchouli was all over the Alpha’s mansion, making Morpheus jealous.

Her scent usually calms us, but knowing she was sleeping in another Alpha’s house irritates us. Wolves are possessive creatures, but Alphas are worse.

I followed Damen outside, walking down the street in silence. I was surprised when Damen punched me, and was more surprised that my wolf didn’t come to my aid.

” Did you see the pictures, dumbass?” Morpheus retorted. ” Your worthless slut hurt our mate!”

I wasn’t going to argue with the simple creature. He only follows instinct instead of logic. Those pictures could have been doctored. Until I saw the wounds myself, I kept my skepticism high.

” And how are you going to logically convince a jury that Selene didn’t kill Colin!”He growled.

” Working on it!” I seethed. I knew Damen would fight to keep Selene from coming back with me to Crescent Moon. But I also wanted justice for Colin. Just not like this.

I picked up Selene’s scent again as we approached a house. Damen opened the door without hesitation and stopped a few feet into the cozy space.

“Where’s Selene?” he demanded from an old woman sitting in her La-Z-Boy, clicking through TV channels.

I glanced around the room, detecting Selene’s fading scent, my anger rising. “Answer, crone!” I yelled.

Her gaze shifted from the TV to me, and her black eyes put me on edge. The smell of magic was radiating off of her. Witch!. “She’s gone,” she casually remarked with a shrug. “But you, my boy,” she slyly grinned, pointing a bony digit at me. “Are in deep shit.”

“How, witch?” I retort, keeping myself composed and not letting her know how her words affected me.

“The Moon Goddess gifted you with the perfect mate, and you rejected her. The Moon Goddess will want her pound of flesh before you find peace again.”

A cold stone of dread dropped into my stomach as the witch shifted her black, eternal eyes to the TV and continued flicking through the channels.

“We will track her and find her,” I simply said.

“Good luck with that,” the witch retorts, waving us off like pesky flies.

Damen marches through the house towards a back door that leads out into the forest. Selene’s scent stops at the threshold.

“You won’t find her if Rhiannon gave her a masking potion,” he informs me. Damen then looks at his phone and presses a button. My phone chimes in response.

I glanced at the screen notification and saw it was a recording file.

“At least listen to her side,” was all Damen said before walking around the house and returning to his mansion. I stayed a minute longer, staring into the woods while wondering how a weak and wolf-less Selene had such powerful allies.

” Maybe if you gave her a chance, you would have seen how perfectly matched she was for us!” Morpheus yells, giving me a headache.

I ignore the comment and return to the mansion, where my Gamma awaits.

She’ll pop up, and I’ll be there when she does!

-

Selene’s POV

I ran through the trees as if my life depended on it. I was highly grateful for Damen’s training; otherwise, my stamina would have been gone hours ago.

Night had fallen, and the full moon was high overhead. The moonlight was breaking through the dense canopy, making everything eerie.

My wolf eyesight made my surroundings look clear, like I was running in the daytime, but my body was fatigued from a lack of nutrition. I hadn’t eaten since lunch, and my stomach was letting me know.

I reached a babbling brook when I stopped. I drank from the stream to replenish the fluids I lost through sweating from my run. I sat against a tree to rest, the night air cooling my body, and I must have drifted off to sleep.

“Gotcha!”

Something or someone dragged me by my neck as I was shocked awake. My skin immediately started to burn from whatever was pulling me.

” SILVER!”Diana cried as I began to fight, but my energy was gone! The silver was draining me when I painfully pulled myself to my feet and faced the ugliest and most unkempt man I’ve ever seen.

His gaze swept up and down my body. “Aren’t you a pretty little wolf?” His breath was foul. I tried to breathe through my nose, trying not to gag, as he leered. I heard chuckles coming from the woods.

SHIT! ROGUES!

Rogue bands were standard in the dark, untamed woods throughout the pack lands. Seems I was unlucky enough to run into one!

“We’re taking her back to the camp!” My captor ordered. My hands were immediately bound, and I was forced to follow with the silver noose around my neck.

I was grateful the journey wasn’t too long before the noose was removed, and I was shoved into an iron cage. I kept my breath steady and fear down as I took in my surroundings under the moonlight.

The “camp” reminded me of the old settlements I learned about in school, complete with log cabins. My captor and his men must have sent word of my arrival because a crowd began to gather near my cage.

I examined the mass of people, noting that all the women had collars on their necks. A few men also had collars. But there was one common element in the crowd: They all looked tired and miserable.

“New meat!” My ugly captor called, indicating towards me. “Who wants her as a mate?”

Shock and disgust ran through me as several men approached the cage to examine me. I lifted my chin in defiance, demonstrating my unwillingness to cooperate.

“I demand a challenge!” I state, my voice not showing an ounce of fear.

Fugly, my captor’s new name, guffawed with amusement as others joined him.

“What?” I mock. “Scared?”

Fugly stopped laughing, and the camp went silent. “I’m going to enjoy breaking you, little bitch,” he hissed. “Challenge accepted.”

Someone unlocked the cage and grabbed my still-bounded hands, pulling me as we all marched towards the center of the camp, where the moon’s light hit the ground.

My energy swiftly returned as I was stopped at the edge of the moon’s ring.

“The challenge will be performed in wolf form!” Fugly announced and immediately began to strip.

Fuuuuuuck! I haven’t performed my first shift yet!

” Relax,”Diana soothes. ” We can do this! Just let me take over!”

Fugly shifted in front of me, his wolf shaggy and ugly like him.

I kept calm as I let Diana come to the forefront of my mind, and my shift was seamless as I became a spectator in the back of Diana’s mind.

When we refocused, all my senses were heightened, and a power surged through me. The crowd gasped and whispered as I glanced down at my fur and noted my coloring.

Silver

My fur was so silver that it looked close to a very light purple.

There has never been a silver wolf before!

“She’s an Alpha!” Someone whispered-yelled behind me. I could feel the Alpha power growing and expanding, affecting those close to me.

Fugly snarled, baring yellow and black fangs. We responded in kind before our wolves hurled towards each other and clashed with teeth and nails.

It was no contest. Fugly was weak compared to us. I had him pinned down and his throat torn out in seconds. Fugly’s dead eyes were still in shock as he lay there.

My wolf and I howled in triumph, letting the Alpha power flow towards the group. Each person dropped to their knees and bared their necks in respect. Even Fugly’s loyal followers. That’s when I felt a pack bond starting.

Diana let me have control, and I swiftly shifted back. I stood naked in the moonlight, my chin raised to the kneeling group. “Those who wish to stay and become a pack, I will lead you to a better life. From now on, there will be no more slaves and no more forced mating! Remove your collars!” I ordered.

The sound of metal hitting dirt filled the night. “Those who were forced mated can now reject the bond!” I announced. The next sounds were the screams of rejected force-mated wolves. All from Fugly’s group.

I caught a few hateful stares after the bonds were broken.

“Those who disagree with my rule and wish to remain true rogues will leave now!” I indicated the dark forest. But before they ran off, I, Alpha, commanded them to never tell anyone I was female.

A handful of Fugly’s sycophants rose and ran into the foliage. The rest stayed on their knees.

“Rise and accept me as your Alpha!” Everyone jumped up and howled—the sound echoing through the forest.

The pack bond officially snapped into place.

Now we begin.