“I reject you Marian Storm!” Those were the words she could never have dreamed to hear from the Alpha heir to her father’s pack. And certainly not at the New Year’s Moon celebration, in front of the whole pack. Leaving the pack compound that had been her prison for three years, Marian was heartbroken and determined never to return. But she knew she would, she must. After her rejection, the only desire left in her life was to kill the Alpha who had taken over her father’s pack, failing that, she would leave the pack and become a rouge wolf. She returns home for Christmas to attend her fallen family’s memorial service. On Christmas Eve, during the pack’s mistletoe ceremony, she receives a gift she never expected, a gift no one wanted – Reyland, the biological son of the Alpha she has sworn to kill. Would this gift given to her by the moon goddess help Marian fulfill her desire to reclaim her pack, or would it stir up new passions within her broken heart and consume her instead?
View MoreIt was that time of the year again. The time of the year Marian hated the most – Christmas.
Away from her pack for almost a year after her self-imposed exile, she had returned to fulfill her duties as the only surviving child and sibling of her late mother and brother.
Goddess, how I hate this place, she mused, her lips tightening as she strode toward the pack hall.
Her hips swayed as she walked purposefully toward the hall in her gold dress and strappy gold heels, all five feet eleven inches of her, as a light breeze pulled on her waist-length dark brown hair and silk gown.
Her jaw clenched as she neared her destination, and she fought to keep her hands unclenched as she approached; her green eyes were narrowed and focused ahead as she moved with a steady gait.
Marian had the lean, athletic build of a warrior she-wolf, and she moved like the alpha wolf that she was, with purpose and a commanding presence that demanded others move out of the way.
Her back and head were straight and upright. Her expression unreadable, bordering on boredom.
“Why do I have to come back here? All these people…! This place…! It’s exactly the same,” Marian said haughtily, speaking to her wolf, Dinka, in their mind space.
The bitterness in her voice was sharp and heavy as Marian was both pissed off and saddened.
Her return was not a homecoming or some joyous reunion.
It was a duty.
A burden.
It was a guilt she had to pay penance for, every year, forever.
A scar she could never remove. Though not carried on her body like the others – most of which were badges of honor, healed over time, earned by the warrior she was – this one was inside, deep and raw, even now, four years later.
And as if this were not enough, she had to deal with the added stigma of a rejection. A humiliation that had caused her to flee earlier that year.
A humiliation, which she had to swallow to be here, now, for the duty she owed her family.
There had been an internal pack war in which she and her father, the erstwhile Alpha, had lost and had been taken prisoner by the victor of the bloody battle – her father’s best friend, Dax Garrant, the current pack Alpha, a man Marian had called “Uncle” for most of her life, right up to that deadly fight.
She had returned, ahead of schedule, to attend the memorial service that was held every year, for the past three years, to commemorate this battle.
To remember the loss the Lightmoon pack, as a whole, had suffered.
Almost everyone in Lightmoon had lost someone on that day.
It was not a service for only her family, it was for the pack’s lost loved ones – families and friends alike.
For Marian, it was nothing so grand or noble.
For her, it was the reopening of a wound – every single time.
A bitter reminder that she and her father had survived while her mother and brother had not.
And here she was, in the very place she had just recently escaped, attending a party, with the same people she thought she had escaped from.
Her mind flashed to that time, the moment when, at the beginning of the year, she had been rejected by the current pack Alpha’s adopted son and chosen heir to the pack, Dorien.
A boy she had thought of as her light in a world that had fallen into darkness.
He had rejected her at the New Year Moon party – in full view of the whole pack.
She could still hear the words now as she headed toward the large pack house.
“I, Dorien Aldon, reject you, Marian Storm, as my mate!”
With those words from him, her heart had felt like it was going to explode, and till today, she did not know how she had managed it, but she had fled from the same pack hall she was now striding toward.
Marian straightened her shoulders at the memory, pushing it back where it belonged – down and out of her mind – as she continued her smooth advance.
“You know why,” Dinka replied steadily as she watched the other wolves around, sniffing at some and keeping her distance from others.
“Yeah,” Marian replied lazily, her heart twisting but her face remaining indifferent.
She had left the pack compound immediately after the rejection and would have stayed away permanently, if not for the memorial service she needed to attend for her mother and brother.
She owed them this.
She could stomach being back in the place that had been her home, then her prison, then her heartbreaking shame, for three days.
That’s all she needed.
Three days of keeping out of the way.
Three days of keeping her head down.
Three days, and it would all be over – until next year.
But that was not Marian’s problem; her focus was on right now, and right now, she was looking for only one person.
Marian sniffed the air, and her wolf, Dinka, purred.
Dinka had missed the pack life – the community, the closeness, the energy. Marian had not.
“Let’s go to him!” Dinka urged in the mind space she shared with her human.
“Sure, D. Let’s find him,” Marian replied as she stood in front of the entrance to the hall where the pack’s Christmas Eve ceremony was in full swing, her mind returning to focus on the present.
She inhaled quietly before stepping inside the hall. As she entered and scanned the place, she grinded her teeth as her stomach fell.
Music, laughter, and muted and loud conversations alike filled the brightly lit and exquisitely decorated hall.
A stark contrast to the quiet anguish in Marian’s heart and mind.
This was a party held every year, on Christmas Eve, to usher the pack into Christmas Day; fondly referred to as the mistletoe drop party, by young wolves.
Christmas had always been a main celebration in her pack, and this had not changed after the war.
Marian’s blood boiled, but she buried the heat deep inside of her.
Not only did she not want to be here, she KNEW that she was not wanted here, most especially not by Alpha Dax.
She hated him with the remaining pieces of her broken soul, and Dax could not care less about her, which was why she, a skilled warrior, former pack princess, an alpha wolf, had been allowed to run from the pack.
Someone who, as a prisoner of war, should not be able to take so much as a step without the pack Alpha’s approval.
But she had not only left, no one had come to drag her back.
They despised each other, she and her former “Uncle”.
They shared a deep hatred that could never be mended.
Not only had he, with his own hands, killed her family, he had taken the only family she had left, away from her.
And kept him at his side like a prize on permanent display.
==========
Marian entered the hall and strolled around the grandly decorated room. Lights were everywhere, wonderful Christmas decorations adorned the ceiling and the walls, and there was more than enough food and drink going around.
Almost as soon as she strode in, the whispers started.
Marian steeled herself, blocking out every emotion as her cool green eyes scanned the surroundings for the only person she cared to look for.
Is that her?
Yeah!
Wow!
Don’t look…
She seems…different…
Shh!
The words flitted through the air in the hall, and Marian ignored them all.
“He has returned,” Tobias rumbled.“Hmmm,” Misha droned.Christmas celebration this year at Bloodrayne was nowhere near as rambunctious as it had been the year before.The atmosphere was muted, and the attendees were much fewer.They were in the same hall, the same location, as they had always used.No prisoners or fights were on display.No omegas were being pushed around.Bloodrayne had lost much more than they could replace in the one year since the attack by the Alpha King’s minions.Plus, Alpha Tobias could not take his father’s warning lightly, so had kept a much tighter leash on his people’s excesses. And his own.Tobias was at the center of the table, Misha was in his usual place, three spaces down from his father’s right.“Shall we send a gift?” Tobias called out casually.“Of what shall we make it, Father?” Misha called back, not really paying attention as he sipped his spiced wine.“You have always pined for the girl, why not go to her?” Tobias stated evenly.Misha turned l
Almost a year later, it was the Christmas Eve celebration at Lightmoon.The hall was packed with pack members and guests from far and wide. the pack Alpha, Marian, sat on the dais with the pack mother and Luna, Luna Diane, her mother’s sister, and their two sons.The pack Beta, Beta Brock, was standing behind Alpha Marian.It was almost midnight.Everyone was anticipating the ball drop.A gong sounded, twice.Everyone stared as they knew it was not yet time. Even the gas for dulling scents had not yet been released.The music stopped.The pack door opened, and the tallest shifter in Lightmoon entered the room.All eyes stared.Since New Year’s, few had seen their Alpha’s firstborn, their last Alpha’s firstborn.As they stared, many took sharp breaths.His resemblance to their former Alpha, Alpha Dax, was undeniable. However, he had a powerful presence of his own.His ey
By afternoon, drinks and other foods, both raw and cooked, were coming in from neighbouring packs.It was the first time such had happened, but no shifter alive did not know that Lightmoon had taken many hits since Christmas, and had taken bold steps in defending the entire region.The news of their pack link had spread as well and it was known, and understood, that their pack Alpha was down.The details were unknown, but the sentiments surrounding Lightmoon’s issues were real.People cared.By evening, lights were up.No guests were around. Only deliveries and goodwill messages had been sent.There was no music.People were eating and drinking in muted tones.There was a stark difference between the Christmas Eve party and this one.At midnight, the young shifters who were ready, whose bonds were formed by the moon goddess or by their heart's choice, presented themselves to each other.Those who acce
Corien held Reyland’s gaze, breathing calmly.“Calm yourself,” Corien said again, patiently.Reyland’s breathing slowed. His rosy cheeks cleared, his face softened.The young lycan swallowed.“I –” he stammered.“Are angry. Justifiably. Everyone in this room is justified in their anger,” Corien stated calmly.Then, Corien’s eyes snapped to Dax.“What will his punishment be?” Corien asked evenly.Dax stared at Corien.Then at Reyland.Then at Dorien.He mumbled something unintelligible.It was not that no one heard his words, it was that his words had been gibberish.“What?” Corien asked softly.“Tomorrow. Let everything wait till tomorrow,” Dax said quietly, straightening his back.“Doctor Byron,” Dax continued.“Yes, my Alpha,” the elder shifter responde
Dax stared at Tobias, then turned and walked away, Brock following closely behind him.Marian stared at Misha as Tobias and Eaden headed into the trees.Backing away, Misha mouthed something to Marian, his eyes never leaving hers.Her eyes filled as he faded into the darkness.Reyland was at her side.She took his hand silently, still facing where Misha had vanished.Reyland turned her around and they left the meeting place, side by side.==========Back at Lightmoon, Dorien was being treated by Doctor Byron. Corien and Gravan were in attendance.The heir had been tortured.There were silver needles, large ones, in his mouth. A spell had been placed on his mouth such that, unless he was awake, his mouth could not be opened.Any attempt to ease his pain with medicine resulted in his lips remaining sealed.Corien, stronger now, and with help from Gravan, used a mind meld to help Dorien heal enough to t
Alpha Tobias and Eaden, shifted back to human form.“If it is a parlay you want, then let us have it,” Misha announced calmly, stepping back from Marian.Marian heard the emptiness in his voice.Her hand dropped and she inhaled quietly through clenched teeth.Misha stopped his retreat, his eyes on her face.She blinked and raised her chin slightly.It was not that Marian did not want Misha to leave. It was that he was Misha. He was like nothing and no one she had ever met.Misha backed further away, and suddenly Reyland was behind him.“What, cousin? Could we run from you if we tried?” Misha droned, his eyes on Marian, his head slightly inclined backward toward Reyland.Marian eyed the two. It was an interesting view.Misha was about six-four. Reyland was six-eight.Misha was as sleek and trim as ever. Reyland was thicker and wider than him.Misha was sultry and sensual down t
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