No one knew about the secrets of the lake. Not even Reyland’s father, Alpha Dax.
Reyland had kept it to himself, as he did most things that could cause people to ask questions or take an interest in him.
With Alpha Corien’s blood running in his system, he could hear and feel every sound, every movement of the breeze above the trees.
I hate this feeling.
It’s so…alien.
It’s not my power.
It’s fake.
I don’t want it.
I don’t want to use it.
He mused, as his heart raced, pushing the alpha’s blood to every cell in his body.
But he could not get in his precious lake. Not yet. He had tried it once, when he had first ingested Corien’s blood, not long after the battle where Corien lost his position.
It had felt as if the lake waters were ripping off his skin, pulling out the hairs on his body, few as th
Marian woke up in her room. Alone.She sat up slowly, reaching into her mind space for Dinka.Still nothing. She mused, her heart heavy.She recalled her father's face just before she fell asleep for the second time and immediately straightened her shoulders.She closed her eyes, reminding herself of why she had returned.Regaining the feeling of the night before, at the mistletoe party.I am my father's daughter.I am not bound to or by anyone in this place.I am my own wolf.Her shoulders drooped as she thought the word ‘wolf’.She hung her head, shaking it slowly, fighting back tears.She swallowed and licked her dry lips.Her head snapped up as her mind carried her through everything that had happened since her return.“Reyland,” she whispered, jumping out of bed.Marian stretched and glanced down at her body.&ldquo
Marian spun around in the water, using her arms to turn her body. She opened her eyes wide to see further into the dark water, but it seemed as if a light had been switched off. Instead of a clearer view, things became hazy.It was dim in the lake. But the lake was not murky.As she spun and strained her eyes, she was tempted to call out to him, but they were underwater.She wanted to link with him, but he did not have the power to share the pack link.Her mind and heart started racing.Where is he?Have I lost him?No! He just fell in! He’s in here!What if I can't find him?What do I do?Should I link Dax? She pushed that thought away immediately.No. Never. Not after what happened earlier. I’ll call Uncle Gravan.Yes, I’ll – as she started to reach for her uncle in her mind, a pale object caught her eye.She twisted around, holding herself in the same spot, kicking her feet and moving her arms.Her green eyes shone in the dimness of the frigid water.The first thing she noticed once
“Marian!” Reyland choked, his pitch an octave higher than he expected, making him flush. The tips of his ears turned the same color as Marian’s cheeks.“What?” She whispered sultry against his lips as he held his face above the water, balancing her up, away from his increasingly hardening member, which seemed to be reaching for her.“Marian, what…look…I’m…you…” he complained, his voice gruff as his eyes fixed on her soft, pale lips.“Hmmm? I can't hear you,” she breathed, her right hand sliding down his left arm under the water.Pale lips? Reyland thought. Alarm bells went off in his head.He released his grip on her waist and pulled himself higher out of the water, pulling her flat against the side of his body, keeping her away from his front.Her eyes widened, moving from his lips to take in his full face. He was staring down at her, holding he
Reyland leaned Marian backward, into the crook of his shoulder, and her head lolled back. Her eyes were closed. Reyland pursed his lips.Fainted?An alpha she-wolf?How come?Why?Is it the lake?No. It can't be.She was shaken up by my father, but that was hours ago.And…why is she so…light?Is it the cold?Other bodies of water are frozen right now. Could it be the chill?I should get her warm…and dry.He thought, his heart now pounding for a different reason.Dry! Gotta get out of the water!With that thought, he pushed for the bank of the lake, holding Marian in his arms, keeping her head above water.==========Reyland’s feet found the lake floor and he trudged forward, quickly at first, but as he left the water, his body began to drag.He ended up dragging Marian’s soaked, heavy, limp body out of the water and falling with her on the lake’s edge.He was the long way around from his clothes so he lay Marian on her back, quickly checked her pulse and breathing, and lumbered over
Despite all Reyland’s efforts to keep an open mind, to accept that the she-wolf on top of him did not know what she was doing, his mind was losing the battle to the supple skin pressing and rubbing against his prone body.He had never been this close to anyone in his life, let alone a full-flesh female.Not only was his temperature rising, but his pole, with her leg against it, was also starting to rise.She shifted her left leg against the mounting pressure, rubbing against him, and this time, Reyland could not hold back.He moved, attempting to roll her off him, but she clung to him, one hand grabbing his left breast, while the other, under his right arm squeezed his fleshy side.He groaned, grimacing as her rough palm grazed his nipple.He bit his lip to hold back his voice, breaking the skin inside his mouth.He struggled underneath her as he felt her warm breath on his ear again, his pupils dilating.“Where are you going? I thought you were warming me up?” Marian whispered coyly.
“I…I wanted to get you warm, but…listen, we should get inside. Okay? You can go ahead of me. I’ll come in after.” Reyland stated carefully, still standing at a distance.“There are blankets in the living room, at the house. Take one. You can –” he explained, but Marian cut in.“I’m not leaving you.” She breathed, staring at Reyland openly, her eyes roving over his exposed torso.She had seen it before, but she had not been this close.His skin was fair. Very fair. During the party, she had not noticed this, and in the dark, outside his home, it had not stood out.But here, under the bright, almost noon sun, even with the green hue the leaves cast over everything, it was evident.It was probably no more than five shades of pigmentation that kept his skin from being translucent.There was no mark on his body, and he had very little body hair. If Marian had been a different kind of wolf, she would have felt jealous.Many, if not most, werewolves had significant chest hair, some even to t
Reyland tilted his head to the side, his brow furrowed.“You said that before. You don’t have to wait with me. I’ll…I’ll only slow you down. Your legs must either be freezing or numb. It’s worse if they’re numb.”“They’re numb,” Marian replied flatly.“Wha-What?! Why didn’t you –” Reyland stared at her, his tiny eyes wide, his cheeks wobbling as his lips shook.He closed his eyes and aspirated, again.“Go inside. I’ll be right behind you. Go through the back, the guards –”“No.”“I’ll slow you down!” Reyland pressed, a slight edge in his voice.“I’ll carry you.” She said flatly.Reyland gaped at her.“Wha– No.”“Why not? You’re cold too, right?”“No. I’m not. I’m fine.”“But.”“Look at me, Marian. Do I seem cold to you?” He asked exasperatedly.She looked closely and eyed him up and down.“No…” she stated slowly, “you don’t seem cold at all.”“That’s because I’m not. Okay? Go in. Warm up. I’ll be right behind you. I promise.” He stated firmly.“But, take the back, okay?” He added.Mar
A word that had hit Marian the first time she had been at Reyland’s home, pulled at her heart again as her eyes glimmered at her giant – ‘adorable’.Reyland’s smile widened.“You’d be the first person to think that,” he droned nonchalantly.“Huh? What?” Marian asked, still smiling up at him with a silly expression.“‘Adorable,’ you’re probably the only person who has used that word to describe ANYTHING about me.” He explained.Marian’s mouth formed a silent O.She had not realized that she had said the word that was in her heart out loud.She flushed, covered her mouth, and rushed into his house.Reyland laughed lightly before glancing around and following Marian inside.Not that I’d know if anyone was around…he chided himself sarcastically.==========Within the hour, after a fast meal pulled together from a bunch of leftovers in Reyland’s fridge, Marian was in the living room of Reyland’s two-story home, sitting before a blazing fire, wrapped in a thick blanket.Just as Reyland had
Pulse racing, Reyland slowly removed his appendages from her mouth as Marian swallowed the pill whole, her dark eyes on his deeply flushed face and dilated pupils.“Ha!” he breathed as he stared at her.“I swallowed it,” she whispered, “I need another one. I’m to chew, right?” she asked innocently, her voice as husky as if she had cotton in her throat.Reyland stared wide-eyed at her, slack-jawed.“You…you can’t…you shouldn’t…Marian,” he stammered, at a loss for words, the heat rising at the base of his neck, and at the base below his belt buckle.The she-wolf instantly got whiff of a scent that made her sit up.Reyland’s face got redder, and Marian’s body couldn’t take the sight.He made to stand and she moved, breaking parts of the bandages that still graced her body.She straddled Reyland and kissed him without restraint.
As far as every pack member knew, Alpha Dax had never been so magnanimous in the past. At previous ceremonies, he was never seen until the event commenced.Today, he was seen everywhere. It was both comforting and unnerving.In addition, the Alpha heir was also in tow.Though many whispered that this might have something to do with his growing responsibilities within the pack as he would soon turn twenty-one and there were things he ought to take over from his father, sooner rather than later, it was not usual either.The heir usually moved about on his own, with their Luna-in-waiting, Risa, accompanying him, but today she was nowhere in sight.The pack was also aware that their guests were still around.Normally, they should have left after Christmas, but they were all still around, and the compound was still in lockdown.They had every reason to be somber, to be uneasy.As the pack stewed in their doubts and hope for a peacef
“What are we gonna talk about?” Marian asked haltingly as she eyed the now serious Reyland, while her mind fought to stay focused on their conversation and not his overwhelming cuteness.Reyland glanced outside, through the window. He rose and walked over to the thick curtains. Letting them loose slowly, he responded with his back to her.“I wanted to talk about you…and me…But, I think it’s late now,” he replied casually.Curtains down, he turned to face Marian in the now darkened room. The lamp in the corner of her room was still on, casting deep shadows around.Reyland proceeded forward, toward the door, his eyes on hers.“You, princess, have had an incredibly long day,” he continued, clicking on the lights and brightening the room in a clear white light.Neither wolf blinked as the lights came on.Reyland smiled gently.“I think you should sleep. We can talk in the morning. It could be our own little ceremony,” he said in his warm voice.“There are guards outside,” he continued smo
The Marian he had dumped had not been the vibrant she-wolf he had fallen for. She had not been the lively, bold, outspoken girl he had taken into his heart, and into his bed.After the battle, she had lost her shine, her light. She became dull in her manner, in her speech. They had had to sneak around to meet.He had even let other she-wolves touch him before going to see her, on purpose. And she never said anything, never called him out.He continued making promises to her even as he purposefully kept away, and she had not challenged him in any way.His real, original Marian would never have let anything like that slide.She had changed, and he had lost interest.==========But, upon her return, right from their first exchange, he had finally seen the girl he had known for almost ten years, and his pulse had quickened.His heart had beat like it used to when they had first kicked things off.His woman.An alpha she-wolf and warrior of no mean ability.Someone who was his before anyon
Dorien, Alpha heir to Lightmoon pack, felt a tension in his head and his chest that he had not felt in years.A pressure and a pang that made him feel suffocated.It was a tension he had felt almost daily since he first came to Lightmoon pack. A tension that hardly went away unless his mind was busy with something hard, painful, or terrifying, like training, raiding, or fighting for his life.As he felt those aches now, in real time as he stood in his father’s empty office, his breathing grew rapid and unsteady.In seconds, he was breathing through gritted teeth as his eyes darted about, searching for and seeing nothing.At the corner of his mind, he heard his adoptive father’s, Alpha Dax’s, voice warn him about controlling his emotions, but after what he had seen in the office a few hours ago, he didn’t need Alpha Dax talking to him about control.He shook his head, driving Dax’s voice away.He paced the
Years ago, the Lightmoon pack had hidden Corien’s gift of dreams.His gift had been a secret known to only a few, all of whom were sworn to secrecy – not just a promise, but a blood bond sealed through spells had been made.This had been done to protect not only Corien but also the pack, as they gained great advantages in attacks and advances from their rivals and enemies through his premonitions.In public, within the pack, no one ever spoke loudly about his strength, his healing, or his proficiency in battles.Whatever their thoughts may have been, whatever fantasies anyone dreamed up, at most, Corien was referred to as ‘special’, or ‘different’, or ‘unique’, when shifters praised him, when they were in their cups, or when they gossiped, nothing more.Then the war happened, and he became ‘token’, ‘prize’, and ‘fallen’.After half a year to two years, for th
Any concerns or requests could be brought to the Elders; however, they would never actively involve themselves in resolving any issues.Their presence was intimidating and could be hard to bear.Many meetings were not done face-to-face, but rather, through intermediaries – younger, but still elderly, shifters who lived with the Elders and presented cases to them for their input.Their rule was simple – they did not interfere in pack politics or battles. They had all had enough of these during their individual reigns and had no taste for such things in their old age.All of them had been around during the time of the previous Alpha, the one before Corien, the one who loved wars, battles, and blood, the one who used his people as objects and pawns for his schemes and conquests.And they had done nothing.They had been there when Corien had taken over from that Alpha, by force of arms, and they had done nothing.
Corien was in Dax’s office. He had been with him for the past hour, letting the Alpha seethe and rage.Dorien and the Luna had been present as well, but they had left earlier, leaving only the two brothers, the two enemies, together.Dax sat in his chair, his back to Corien, staring out the large window behind his desk.“Once the Alpha King hears of this from Anna, he will come for her,” Dax droned. Finally calm after his last outbursts with his family.“Not if we claim her,” Corien replied calmly.Dax did not respond.Corien continued.“We don’t have to do so immediately. We can plan for it, as we do for everything,” he stated firmly as he approached the large desk and stopped at the edge, adjacent to Dax’s wide shoulders.“If you put everything aside, you will know that what Dorien has suggested is the best solution,” he continued carefully.Silence.
“If he banishes me…” Marian whispered hoarsely, her voice catching. She shifted her eyes to Gravan, “Will you and Dad come with me?” she whispered, her eyes filling.“Just us? No one else?” Gravan replied with a soft smile, his bright eyes shining in his handsome face.Marian shifted her head against her pillow as she gazed up at her uncle.“I won’t have any hope there, if I’m banished,” she croaked.Gravan shook his head gently, stroking her forehead, the smile still on his face.“First of all, princess, we don’t dwell on ‘what-ifs’, hmmm? What’s done is done. All that matters is where we are now, and what we can do about it,” he stated matter-of-factly.“Your father will not let anything happen to you. Rest assured, nothing as drastic as banishment will happen,” he droned.“But, what if he – Alpha Dax &ndash